CNN Travel is reporting that, within three years, there may be a great new sleeping pill called tasimelteon that reduces the effects of grogginess and jet lag. I had several reactions to this rather lackluster news:
Hasn’t anyone heard of Melatonin?
The article suggests that this new drug mimics melatonin, an over-the-counter herbal remedy that many people already use to help them sleep at night. It seems awfully useless to produce a drug with the same effects.What’s wrong with Tylenol PM?
I’ve been desperate for sleep on many occasions, and if all of the natural solutions don’t work, Tylenol PM does the trick. There are plenty of sleep-enhancing medicines that already exist that will “help you get your Z’s.”
Why do we continue to promote drug use and not take the proper steps to sleep properly?
At the very end of the CNN article is a great list of natural remedies for jet lag. I feel this gets closer to the heart of the matter: We live in a medicated world – a world where drugs are often too easy to come by. Unless the cure for cancer is a drug or you’re fighting a serious illness, I strongly believe fighting jet lag naturally will be the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.
And finally, if this sleeping drug ends up becoming a household name (Honey, can you pass the tasimelteon), then couldn’t they have come up with an easier name to pronounce?