Written By: Mita Majumdar | Updated : February 22, 2017 5:13 PM IST
There is nothing worse than waking up at 2 AM and not being able to get back to sleep. If you have problems falling asleep at night or you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep, then you know the torture too well and how it adversely affects the quality of your life. Irritability, grogginess, difficulty concentrating or staying awake at work, and fatigue all these are typical after effects of insomnia that play havoc with your life.
What do you do? You resort to sleeping pills - prescription or otherwise - that are designed to help you sleep and stay asleep. Sadly, these pills do more harm than good in the long run, though they are quite effective on a short term basis.
Doctors generally prescribe sleep medication, medically known as hypnotics, for about two weeks. But the problem is many people end up taking the pills for much longer, even years. Sleeping pills are effective only if you take them for a short term. If you use them for longer periods, you will develop a tolerance to these drugs and they stop being effective or they may even cause dangerous side effects. Most sleeping pills include benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and other hypnotics.
Benzodiazepines are basically anti-anxiety drugs (for example, Xanax and Valium) that help relieve nervousness and tension by slowing the central nervous system. However, they are prescribed for short term sleeping problems and in cases of alcohol withdrawal. These drugs are not effective if taken continuously for weeks together and have several side effects too.
Research has proven that these drugs have been associated with an increased incidence of infections, and risk of death in the critically ill. And now a British study has found that benzodiazepines are associated with an increased risk of pneumonia as well. Why? That's because these medications decrease the ability of the brain to receive and interpret sensory stimuli. 'In those cases, people do have a harder time protecting their airways, they may aspirate further, and that may be one cause of the increased chance of pneumonia,' said Dr. Gregory Holt, co-author of this study.
There are other side effects that don't kill you but are dangerous; for example, clumsiness or unsteadiness (don't drive or work with machines when using this drug) and dizziness or lightheadedness. These drugs may also cause behavior changes in some people and even agitation or hallucinations. So, contact your doctor if you start having unusual thoughts or behavior while on this drug.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of insomnia.
Barbiturates are also sedative-hypnotic drugs that act on the central nervous system and make you feel very relaxed, calm, and sleepy. These are prescription drugs normally used to help patients relax before surgery or to control seizures but are used sometimes to treat insomnia or sleeplessness. These drugs are very addictive and the good news is that they have been mostly replaced with newer drugs that are less sedative and non-addictive.
Don't take alcohol if you are using barbiturates. Also, be careful while using this drug with other CNS depressant drugs such as antihistamines (usually prescribed for cold and allergy), some pain killers, and muscle relaxants. Check with your doctor first as the combined effects of barbiturates and alcohol or CNS depressant drugs can be very dangerous and even fatal. Side effects of barbiturates could be severe drowsiness, breathing problems, slurred speech, staggering (difficulty with balance), slow heartbeat, burning or tingling in the extremities, constipation or diarrhea, and severe confusion or weakness.
Another class of sleep medication is Z-drugs. Also called nonbenzodiazepines, because they aresimilar to benzodiazepines in benefits and side effects but with different chemical structure, this group includes three drugs, namely, (es)zopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon. All of them are sedatives used to treat mild insomnia, especially in older patients, and are said to be non-addictive.
To find out if Z-drugs are indeed devoid of abuse and dependence potential, G ran Hajak, from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany, and his colleagues, evaluated zolpidem and zopiclone (the most used prescription medicine for mild insomnia) and found them to be relatively safe drugs. 'However, as both drugs are psychotropic drugs, patients with a history of abuse or dependence and those with psychiatric diseases seem to be at increased risk of abuse of these agents,' they reported.
A team of neuroscientistshave now developed a new sleeping pill, DORA-22, which they claim to provide a good night's rest without side effects such as amnesia and cognitive impairment. Most sleeping pills target a brain chemical called GABA that's involved in mood, cognition, and muscle tone, but DORA-22 works on orexin, a brain compound that helps keep us awake. The drug however is still in the testing stage.
Before resorting to sleeping pills, try tackling the root cause of your insomnia. Try not to take your stressful problems to bed. Choose some stress busting techniques such as yoga or meditation. Or, you can try a simple technique get out of bed and go out of the room; take a paper and pen and write down your problems. This can relieve stress by subconsciously transferring your problems from the mind to the paper. Stop smoking. Chronic heavy smoking in adulthood is a significant risk factor for insomnia, according to a study published in the journal Sleep Medicine.
Drinking coffee, tea, and other caffeine-containing drinks in the late afternoon and later can keep you from falling asleep at night. Alcohol, that is said to help you fall asleep, usually prevents deep sleep and you end up with fitful sleep and wake up tired and groggy. Eating late dinners or spicy food or eating too much at bedtime can make you uncomfortable or give you heartburn, making it difficult to get to sleep. So be careful about what you eat and when you eat.
Make your bedroom 'sleep friendly' and maintain sleep hygiene. Eliminate anything your brain associates with wakefulness. It could be thriller movie or book, intense conversations or arguments or even worrying excessively about not being able to sleep. Take a shower or bath before going to bed.Maybe if you could change some behaviors or address the root cause of your sleeplessness, you will not need the sleeping pills at all!
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of stress.
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