Whatever happened to warm milk? Bet you didn't know this interesting factoid: There are NO DRUGS (prescription or over-the-counter) that are currently approved for the treatment of insomnia in children. This doesn't stop mainstream doctors from prescribing them for childhood sleep problems anyway, apparently. The results of a recent survey published in the journal Pediatrics revealed that more than 50 percent of all primary care pediatricians have written prescriptions for patent drugs for the treatment of sleeplessness in children-and more than 75 percent have recommended over-the-counter medicines for the same conditions! And I'll bet you didn't know this, either: As many as one in four children currently suffers from sleep problems. Doesn't this sound a bit high to you? I'll wager it wasn't anywhere near this high a ratio 30 years ago. Could it be because of all the energy-spiking sugar and carbs we cram into our kids - and all the time they spend in front of various screens instead of outside running, playing, burning fat, and getting tuckered enough to conk out at night? And let's not forget SUNLIGHT DEPRIVATION - probably the most important reason of all for childhood insomnia! My question is this: Why don't conventional doctors simply recommend some simple changes to these harmful dietary and lifestyle trends instead of writing those prescriptions or recommending the Benadryl? I already know the answer: It's because they've been brainwashed by all the "educational" propaganda put forth by drug companies and their legislative lapdogs up on The Hill. They honestly believe that these kids are sick - but the truth is that they're just NOT TIRED… But I'm both sick AND tired of all of this kind of quackery. I'm going to drink myself a glass of warm milk and get some sleep. Maybe when I wake up I'll realize it was all just a bad dream. Lettuce extract is also a wonderful soporific. I'll be talking about that soon in my newsletter, Real Health. ********************************* The power of pessimism Everyone has heard of the placebo effect. Simply put, it happens when you feel better after undergoing some sort of treatment just because you believe that treatment is helping you. But you probably haven't heard of the nocebo effect or, if you like, the "negative placebo effect." This is, essentially, the opposite of the placebo effect, meaning that if you think strongly enough that a treatment will not work, and then it won't. (I've come up with my own version of the negative placebo effect, which I've named the Douglass Effect. It goes something like this: "This medicine makes me feel terrible, so it must be working - that must mean I am actually feeling better." It's also a good IQ test.) But, I digress. Back to the nocebo effect: Harvard doctor Herbert Benson says three things drive both the placebo and nocebo effects: beliefs and expectations of patients, their healthcare providers' beliefs and expectations, and the interaction between the two. The U.S. Office of Alternative & Complementary Medicine (OACM) published a paper on this. My super sleuth is looking for it. I'll report back if she finds it. These effects are real but they don't last. The laboratory and other concrete measurements, such as blood pressure and X-rays, will eventually rule the day and bring in a verdict. Singing my same old song,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
