Psychological treatment would help insomniacs

RESEARCHERS in the UK and the U.S.A  are doubting the effectiveness of sleeping pills, saying insomniacs may get more help from psychological treatments.

They carried out a study using sleeping pills and another dummy drug that had no medical benefits for helping sleeplessness. The research found that the placebo effect produced around 50 per cent of the benefits, with the active ingredient in the sleeping pills making up the rest.

They conclude that psychological treatment would be just as beneficial for sufferers and would not have any of the side-effects related to sleeping pills such as memory loss and balance problems.