Why Sleeping Pills May Not Be the Best Option For Better Sleep - a podcast by Discussions with successful health experts such as Ben Greenfield, Terry Wa

Why some common sleep recommendations don't work (sleeping pills and prescriptions) - Dr. Jason Jones Elizabeth City NC, Chiropractor

Over the years many patients come to our Chiropractic office at Elizabeth City NC and complain of insomnia even after taking sleeping pills and prescriptions. You might have experienced this and maybe forced yourself to sleep several times with pills but don’t seem to get a good result.

Well, you’re not alone. According to a survey, about one-third of US adults with sleep problems complain that they had used pills and prescriptions but still don’t get a restful night.  Besides, nearly 6 out of 10 people taking sleeping pills report side effects such as feeling confused, drowsy, or forgetful the next day.

So, you might ask, “Why do some sleeping pills and prescriptions not work?” Well, firstly, you must understand that not all drugs sold over the counter or prescribed are safe and effective. Secondly, most sleeping pills and prescriptions are classified as “sedative hypnotics.”- meaning they only sedate you, but not helping you sleep adequately.

All OTCs, for example, rely on older antihistamines- doxylamine or diphenhydramine, which causes drowsiness as a side effect. The oldest types are anti-anxiety drugs such as triazolam and temazepam, which makes you feel sedated by slowing the activity of your brain and CNS.

The newest type of sleeping pills or prescriptions, including suvorexant and ramelteon, affects brain chemicals that are involved in the sleep-wake cycle.

Why They Don’t Work

Most of these drugs will only make you fall asleep faster or increase total sleep time by 20 to 30 minutes. But they actually don’t help you get adequate sleep.

Studies have shown that drugs like ramelteon only makes people fall asleep 9 minutes faster than those taking a placebo. Also, participants who took suvorexant got only closed their eyes for 10 minutes more than those who took a placebo.

Moreover, sleeping pills don’t seem to reduce your anxiety or clear your depression. They also don’t seem to even encourage the kind of inner and outer change needed for quality sleep. In a way, they only distract you from what you really need.

The “Morning After” Effect

Besides the short-term effect of sleeping pills and prescriptions, they also have side effects, causing people to feel dizzy, drowsy, confused, and unsteady the morning after.

Some people with sleep problems have recorded hallucinations, sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleep eating, memory lapse, and odd behavior in the morning after taking sleeping pills and prescriptions.

The bad part is that when long-term usage of these drugs can be habit-forming, and you are likely to suffer a rebound effect when you decide to stop them, and this worsens insomnia.

More so, the risk of sleeping drugs gets heightened when you misuse them. For example, taking these drugs with other sedatives, alcohol, or prescription pain drugs can lead to slow breathing as well as a physical and mental impairment that may persist up to the next day.

Besides, you take sleeping pills or prescriptions with 4 hours or less to sleep before starting an activity that requires your concentration, you can still have it circulating in your bloodstream, and this can make you less alert when you need to be active.

So if what you’re looking for quality sleep and a regular circadian rhythm, you can follow some natural measures and possibly other techniques including some cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. These measures are safer and long-lasting.

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