Downloading a good night's sleep It's no secret that sleep is at a premium in our hyper-driven society. Many of us have put ourselves on 24-hour clocks, ignoring our circadian rhythms to lengthen our workday well past the standard eight-hours. Or to spend more time in front of TV, video games, or computers. Incredibly, there are those that suggest that the 35 million Americans plagued by draining, persistent insomnia can actually find a cure for their problems by spending even more time glued to a computer screen! That's right: insomniacs are being directed to heal themselves with Internet-based insomnia therapy programs. But I'm not buying it. And once you take a closer look at the study supporting this solution, you'll be ready to throw it in the trash, too. The results of the study, published in the journal Sleep, showed that 81 percent of subjects who participated in a five-week online insomnia program said they got more sleep. Basically, it involved a combination of video and audio clips along with text descriptions of relaxation techniques. But here's the catch: the 35 percent figure was culled from a test group of 40 patients. This means that a whopping 14 people had improved their sleep from using the online program. As far as "big news," those statistics are a big yawn. Don't get me wrong: Almost anything would be better than the "solution" that Big Pharma has been pushing on us all to the tune of a whopping 50 million prescriptions in 2008 alone. But in both cases, no one's bothering to address the underlying cause of the insomnia to begin with. Remember, insomnia itself is often a symptom, not a disease in and of itself. Chronic insomnia can be a sign of a larger mental or physical health issue such as asthma, arthritis, general anxiety, or even the onset of Alzheimer's. I can tell you right now… if clinical depression is the root cause of your sleeplessness, firing up the laptop and downloading some tips on good sleep habits isn't going to help you. And here's something else mainstream doctors don't consider. I've found that the underlying cause of insomnia is often diminishing levels of either melatonin (the sleep hormone) or human growth hormone (HGH). Solving your sleep problem can be as simple as boosting your levels of these vital hormones. You should have your levels tested. If they're low, talk to an alternative health doctor about getting your levels back to normal. Here's something I never thought I'd be writing: Big Pharma giant Pfizer has actually claimed that their first quarter profits dropped by two percent because of a decline in the sale of their blockbuster drug Lipitor. As you probably know, the anti-cholesterol statin drug Lipitor is the biggest selling drug on earth, with annual sales of $2.7 billion. And yet in the first quarter of this year, sales were down eight percent from the same period in 2008. The spin doctors of these useless pills have been working overtime to convince the easily swayed American public that statins can cure everything from cancer to halitosis. But all of that foul hot air hasn't been able to drown out the increasing reports showing that this wonder drug isn't quite the miracle cure its makers would like you to believe it is. But that's not Pfizer's only problem. Pfizer also admitted that competition from generic drug brands was also a factor in their drop in profits. The patent on Lipitor expires in two years, and Pfizer surely was hoping to milk continued profits from this pharmaceutical and financial juggernaut before they're kicked off the gravy train. Granted, a two percent dip in the profits of such a mega-pharma conglomerate probably doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things … but it's sure nice to know that maybe - just maybe - their iron grip is slipping a bit. | 
