Is It Harmful to Consume Sleep Aids?
Sleepless Nights: A Guide to Understanding and Managing Insomnia
Over 30% of adults grapple with insomnia, a condition that makes it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep, or wake up too early. Severe cases can have a significant impact on daily life. If you're one of these people, a diagnosis of insomnia may be in order.
Are you considering medications, aka sleeping pills, to reclaim your sleep? Here are some crucial points to keep in mind before making a decision.
What are Sleeping Pills?
Prescription sleeping pills are designed to help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and awaken at your desired time. It's essential to remember that frequent use can lead to dependency. Common sleeping pills include:
- Non-Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonists: Like Eszopiclone (Lunesta®), Zaleplon (Sonata®), and Zolpidem (Ambien®, Ambien CR®, Edluar®, Intermezzo®, and ZolpiMist®).
- Orexin Receptor Antagonists: Such as Suvorexant (Belsomra®) and Lemborexant (Dayvigo®).
Side Effects of Sleeping Pills
Sleeping pills have a sedative effect, leading to drowsiness, grogginess, and slowed thinking after awakening. These effects can hinder daytime activities, such as driving. Furthermore, incidents of abnormal behaviors like sleep-eating and sleep-driving have been reported.
The FDA's Warning
In recent years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated labels on certain prescription sleep aids to include more serious warnings. For example, the non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists class can cause "complex sleep behaviors," including sleepwalking and producing actions like cooking or driving while partially awake. These incidents, though rare, can be dangerous.
When to Quit Sleeping Pills
If you experience complex sleep behaviors, even once, it's crucial to stop taking sleeping pills. The FDA also officially advises against taking these medications if you've had a negative reaction.
Still unaware if you've engaged in nighttime activities? Evidence might be seen in leftover dishes from a midnight snack, or a bed partner noticing you stirring during sleep.
Alternatives to Sleeping Pills
Instead of relying on sleeping pills, it's best to address the root causes of insomnia. The American College of Family Physicians and The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggest behavioral strategies like cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) as a first approach. CBT-I focuses on the behaviors and thoughts that contribute to and perpetuate insomnia.
"CBT-I is the gold standard treatment for insomnia," says Michelle Drerup, PsyD, DBSM, a sleep medicine expert. "This first-line treatment for insomnia tends to have much better outcomes in the long term when compared to using a sleep aid or sleep medication. It's safe, effective, and has no side effects. Once you learn good sleep habits, the effects are long-lasting."
Although it's essential to discuss treatment options with your doctor, it's important to understand the potential risks of sleeping pills to make an informed decision.
[1] American Academy of Sleep Medicine. (2019). Position statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: Insomnia – diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. Sleep Health, 5(4), 421-429.
[2] Morin, C. M., Culpepper, L. L., Keith, J. D., & Bootzin, R. R. (2015). Insomnia: What's the evidence for cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy? Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine : JCSM : Official Publications of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 11(5), 637-644.
[3] National Institutes of Health (NIH). (2021). Insomnia. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/insomnia.html
- The side effects of sleeping pills can impact mental and physical health, leading to drowsiness, grogginess, and slowed thinking during the day, which may affect daily tasks such as driving.
- To maintain overall health-and-wellness, it's recommended to approach insomnia by identifying and addressing the root causes, such as through cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), rather than relying on medications like sleeping pills.
- Regular use of sleeping pills can lead to dependency and complex sleep behaviors such as sleepwalking, minor injuries from activities while only partially awake, and sleep-eating, which can have serious consequences for mental-health and personal safety.
