energetics

What are drugs?

Drugs are chemical substances that can change how your body and mind work. They include prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.

What is drug use?

Drug use, or misuse, includes:

• Using illegal substances, such as
• Anabolic steroids
• Club drugs
• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Inhalants
• Marijuana
• Methamphetamines
• Misusing prescription medicines, including opioids. This means taking the medicines in a different way than the health care provider prescribed. This includes
• Taking a medicine that was prescribed for someone else
• Taking a larger dose than you are supposed to
• Using the medicine in a different way than you are supposed to. For example, instead of swallowing your tablets, you might crush and then snort or inject them.
• Using the medicine for another purpose, such as getting high
• Misusing over-the-counter medicines, including using them for another purpose and using them in a different way than you are supposed to

Drug use is dangerous. It can harm your brain and body, sometimes permanently. It can hurt the people around you, including friends, families, kids, and unborn babies. Drug use can also lead to addiction.

What is drug addiction?

Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. It causes a person to take drugs repeatedly, despite the harm they cause. Repeated drug use can change the brain and lead to addiction.

The brain changes from addiction can be lasting, so drug addiction is considered a "relapsing" disease. This means that people in recovery are at risk for taking drugs again, even after years of not taking them.

Does everyone who takes drugs become addicted?

Not everyone who uses drugs becomes addicted. Everyone's bodies and brains are different, so their reactions to drugs can also be different. Some people may become addicted quickly, or it may happen over time. Other people never become addicted. Whether or not someone becomes addicted depends on many factors. They include genetic, environmental, and developmental factors.

Who is at risk for drug addiction?

Various risk factors can make you more likely to become addicted to drugs, including:

• Your biology. People can react to drugs differently. Some people like the feeling the first time they try a drug and want more. Others hate how it feels and never try it again.
• Mental health problems. People who have untreated mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to become addicted. This can happen because drug use and mental health problems affect the same parts of the brain. Also, people with these problems may use drugs to try to feel better.
• Trouble at home. If your home is an unhappy place or was when you were growing up, you might be more likely to have a drug problem.
• Trouble in school, at work, or with making friends. You might use drugs to get your mind off these problems.
• Hanging around other people who use drugs. They might encourage you to try drugs.
• Starting drug use when you're young. When kids use drugs, it affects how their bodies and brains finish growing. This increases your chances of becoming addicted when you're an adult.

What are the signs that someone has a drug problem?

Signs that someone has a drug problem include:

• Changing friends a lot
• Spending a lot of time alone
• Losing interest in favorite things
• Not taking care of themselves - for example, not taking showers, changing clothes, or brushing their teeth
• Being really tired and sad
• Eating more or eating less than usual
• Being very energetic, talking fast, or saying things that don't make sense
• Being in a bad mood
• Quickly changing between feeling bad and feeling good
• Sleeping at strange hours
• Missing important appointments
• Having problems at work or at school
• Having problems in personal or family relationships

What are the treatments for drug addiction?

Treatments for drug addiction include counseling, medicines, or both. Research shows that combining medicines with counseling gives most people the best chance of success.

The counseling may be individual, family, and/or group therapy. It can help you:

• Understand why you got addicted
• See how drugs changed your behavior
• Learn how to deal with your problems so you won't go back to using drugs
• Learn to avoid places, people, and situations where you might be tempted to use drugs

Medicines can help with the symptoms of withdrawal. For addiction to certain drugs, there are also medicines that can help you re-establish normal brain function and decrease your cravings.

If you have a mental disorder along with an addiction, it is known as a dual diagnosis. It is important to treat both problems. This will increase your chance of success.

If you have a severe addiction, you may need hospital-based or residential treatment. Residential treatment programs combine housing and treatment services.

Can drug use and addiction be prevented?

Drug use and addiction are preventable. Prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media may prevent or reduce drug use and addiction. These programs include education and outreach to help people understand the risks of drug use.

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

What is drug use?

Drug use, or misuse, includes:

• Using illegal substances, such as
  • Anabolic steroids
  • Club drugs
  • Cocaine
  • Heroin
  • Inhalants
  • Marijuana
  • Methamphetamines
• Misusing prescription medicines, including opioids. This means taking the medicines in a different way than the health care provider prescribed. This includes
• Taking a medicine that was prescribed for someone else
• Taking a larger dose than you are supposed to
• Using the medicine in a different way than you are supposed to. For example, instead of swallowing your tablets, you might crush and then snort or inject them.
• Using the medicine for another purpose, such as getting high
• Misusing over-the-counter medicines, including using them for another purpose and using them in a different way than you are supposed to.

Why are drugs especially dangerous for young people?

Young people's brains are growing and developing until they are their mid-20's. This is especially true of the prefrontal cortex, which is used to make decisions. Taking drugs when young can interfere with developmental processes occurring in the brain. It can also affect their decision-making. They may be more likely to do risky things, such as unsafe sex and dangerous driving.

The earlier young people start using drugs, the greater their chances of continuing to use them and become addicted later in life.Taking drugs when you are young can contribute to the development of adult health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and sleep disorders.

Which drugs most commonly used by young people?

The drugs that are most commonly used by young people are alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Recently, more young people have started vaping tobacco and marijuana. There is still a lot we don't know about the dangers of vaping. Some people have unexpectedly gotten very ill or have even died after vaping. Because of this, young people should stay away from vaping.

Why do young people take drugs?

There are many different reasons why a young person may take drugs, including:

• To fit in. Young people may do drugs because they want to be accepted by friends or peers who are doing drugs.
• To feel good. Abused drugs can produce feelings of pleasure.
• To feel better. Some young people suffer from depression, anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. They may do drugs to try to get some relief.
• To do better in academics or sports. Some young people may take stimulants for studying or anabolic steroids to improve their athletic performance.
• To experiment. Young people often want to try new experiences, especially ones that they think are thrilling or daring.

Which young people are at risk for drug use?

Different factors may raise a young person's risk for drug use, including:

• Stressful early life experiences, such child abuse, child sexual abuse, and other forms of trauma
• Genetics
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol or other drugs
• Lack of parental supervision or monitoring
• Having peers and/or friends who use drugs

What are the signs that a young person has a drug problem?

• Changing friends a lot
• Spending a lot of time alone
• Losing interest in favorite things
• Not taking care of themselves - for example, not taking showers, changing clothes, or brushing their teeth
• Being really tired and sad
• Eating more or eating less than usual
• Being very energetic, talking fast, or saying things that don't make sense
• Being in a bad mood
• Quickly changing between feeling bad and feeling good
• Missing important appointments
• Having problems at school - missing class, getting bad grades
• Having problems in personal or family relationships
• Lying and stealing
• Memory lapses, poor concentration, lack of coordination, slurred speech, etc.

Can drug use in young people be prevented?

Drug use and addiction are preventable. Prevention programs involving families, schools, communities, and the media may prevent or reduce drug use and addiction. These programs include education and outreach to help people understand the risks of drug use.

You can help prevent your children from using drugs through:

• Good communication with your children
• Encouragement, so your children can build confidence and a strong sense of self. It also helps parents promote cooperation and reduce conflict.
• Teaching your children problem-solving skills
• Setting limits, to teach your children self-control and responsibility, provide safe boundaries, and show them that you care
• Supervision, which helps parents recognize developing problems, promote safety, and stay involved
• Knowing your children's friends

NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse

What is sleep?

While you are sleeping, you are unconscious, but your brain and body functions are still active. Sleep is a complex biological process that helps you process new information, stay healthy, and feel rested.

During sleep, your brain cycles through five stages: stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Different things happen during each stage. For example, you have a different pattern of brain waves during each one. Your breathing, heart, and temperature may be slower or faster in some stages. Certain phases of sleep help you :

• Feel rested and energetic the next day
• Learn information, get insight, and form memories
• Give your heart and vascular system a rest
• Release more growth hormone, which helps children grow. It also boosts muscle mass and the repair of cells and tissues in children and adults.
• Release sex hormones, which contributes to puberty and fertility
• Keep from getting sick or help you get better when you are sick, by creating more cytokines (hormones that help the immune system fight various infections)

You need all of the stages to get a healthy sleep.

How much sleep do I need?

The amount of sleep you need depends on several factors, including your age, lifestyle, health, and whether you have been getting enough sleep recently. The general recommendations for sleep are:

• Newborns: 16-18 hours a day
• Preschool-aged children: 11-12 hours a day
• School-aged children: At least 10 hours a day
• Teens: 9-10 hours a day
• Adults (including older adults): 7-8 hours a day

During puberty, teenagers' biological clocks shift, and they are more likely to go to bed later than younger children and adults, and they tend to want to sleep later in the morning. This delayed sleep-wake rhythm conflicts with the early-morning start times of many high schools and helps explain why most teenagers do not get enough sleep.

Some people think that adults need less sleep as they age. But there is no evidence to show that older adults can get by with less sleep than people who are younger. As people age, however, they often get less sleep or they tend to spend less time in the deep, restful stage of sleep. Older adults are also more easily awakened.

And it's not just the number of hours of sleep you get that matters. The quality of the sleep you get is also important. People whose sleep is frequently interrupted or cut short might not get enough of certain stages of sleep.

If you are wondering whether you are getting enough sleep, including quality sleep, ask yourself:

• Do you have trouble getting up in the morning?
• Do you have trouble focusing during the day?
• Do you doze off during the day?

If you answered yes to these three questions, you should work on improving your sleep.

What are the health effects of not getting enough sleep?

Sleep is important for overall health. When you don't get enough sleep (sleep deprivation), it does more than just make you feel tired. It can affect your performance, including your ability to think clearly, react quickly, and form memories. This may cause you to make bad decisions and take more risks. People with sleep deprivation are more likely to get into accidents.

Sleep deprivation can also affect your mood, leading to:

• Irritability
• Problems with relationships, especially for children and teenagers
• Depression
• Anxiety

It can also affect your physical health. Research shows that not getting enough sleep, or getting poor-quality sleep, increases your risk of:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Kidney disease
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes

Not getting enough sleep can also mean that you don't get enough of the hormones that help children grow and help adults and children build muscle mass, fight infections, and repair cells.

Sleep deprivation magnifies the effect of alcohol. A tired person who drinks too much alcohol will be more impaired than a well-rested person.

How can I get better sleep?

You can take steps to improve your sleep habits. First, make sure that you allow yourself enough time to sleep. With enough sleep each night, you may find that you're happier and more productive during the day.

To improve your sleep habits, it also may help to:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
• Avoid caffeine, especially in the afternoon and evening
• Avoid nicotine
• Exercise regularly, but don't exercise too late in the day
• Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed
• Avoid large meals and beverages late at night
• Don't take a nap after 3 p.m.
• Relax before bed, for example by taking a bath, reading or listening to relaxing music
• Keep the temperature in your bedroom cool
• Get rid of distractions such as noises, bright lights, and a TV or computer in the bedroom. Also, don't be tempted to go on your phone or tablet just before bed.
• Get enough sunlight exposure during the day
• Don't lie in bed awake; if you can't sleep for 20 minutes, get up and do something relaxing
• See a doctor if you have continued trouble sleeping. You may have a sleep disorder, such as insomnia or sleep apnea. In some cases, your doctor may suggest trying over-the-counter or prescription sleep aid. In other cases, your doctor may want you to do a sleep study, to help diagnose the problem.

If you are a shift worker, it can be even harder to get a good sleep. You may also want to:

• Take naps and increase the amount of time available for sleep
• Keep the lights bright at work
• Limit shift changes so your body clock can adjust
• Limit caffeine use to the first part of your shift
• Remove sound and light distractions in your bedroom during daytime sleep (for example, use light-blocking curtains)