Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction are complex problems that can have many different causes for different individuals. They also can have many different damaging effects on an individual’s health, relationships and life. It may be very true that an individual who is suffering from these problems once chose to use drugs or alcohol, but it is also true that if the individual had known to what extent these substances were going to affect their life, they likely would not have chosen to use them.
The Truth Behind Drug and Alcohol Use and Addiction
Drug or alcohol use normally begins in response to some problem in the individual’s life. Perhaps they feel stressed about work, finances or relationships, perhaps they want to relax, perhaps they experience peer pressure or perhaps they are experiencing uncomfortable physical or emotional situations they’d simply rather not experience. Whatever the reason, the individual feels that drug or alcohol use will help them in some way. In actual fact, drug and alcohol substances cannot solve any of those problems. These chemical substances interfere with the normal functions of the human body and in so doing they suppress undesirable sensations and stimulate desirable sensations. Even though they haven’t solved the individual’s problems, they seem to have provided some measure of relief and it is usually for this reason that the individual is driven to continue using drugs or alcohol.
Eventually, the individual’s body can grow to tolerate drug substances, which means that the individual no longer experiences the same desired effects as a result of their drug or alcohol use. This new problem is most often handled by an increase in the amount of drugs or alcohol the individual uses. At some point their body will become depend upon these substances in order to function normally, and the individual no longer has any control over whether to use drugs or alcohol and how much. This leaves the individual with a host of new problems, on top of the original problem they had hoped to suppress with their drug or alcohol use.
Poor Sleeping Habits and Drug and Alcohol Addiction
According to a new study, individuals who have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep may have an increased risk for drug and alcohol disorders and dependence problems. Professor Maria Wong, the director of experimental training at Idaho State University, led a study into the effects sleep problems can have on an individual’s future drug and alcohol use. Wong and her co-authors analysed data they collected from over six thousand five hundred adolescent participants, and according to Wong, sleep difficulties and insomnia have accurately predicted an onset of alcohol use one year later as well as an increased risk of illicit drug use and nicotine dependence three and a half years later.
Wong’s study clearly indicates that there is a relationship between poor sleeping habits, which includes difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and the odds of developing serious alcohol and drug problems in the future. Considering that most individuals turn to alcohol and drug substances in an effort to cope with some problem in their life that they feel either unwilling or unable to effectively address and resolve, one can see how poor sleeping habits, and the general poor health and well-being that results from poor sleep, could lead an individual to look for dangerous solutions. The good news is that with professional help and the right program, an individual may be able to successfully restore healthful sleeping habits, perhaps as simply as by changing their diet or exercise regimen. But whatever the reason for one’s poor sleeping habits, it is best they do not turn to alcohol or drugs as a solution.