Americans Are Getting Worse at Taking Sleeping Pills

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/americans-are-getting-worse-at-taking-sleeping-pills/375935/

?na7cum

It’s almost inevitable. Toss and turn for long enough, and eventually the middle-of-the-night bargaining will begin—If I fall asleep in the next 10 minutes, I’ll get five hours. Ten minutes pass. Fifteen minutes pass.

So what is there to do? Counting sheep is fine, if you’re relaxed by the idea of farm animals wandering around your room, but otherwise seems kind of ineffective. Warm milk’s another option, though the science on that one is a little iffy, too.

Another answer is sleeping pills. And another answer, for tens of thousands of Americans, is too many sleeping pills, according to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The report observed a dramatic uptick in emergency-room visits related to zolpidem, the active ingredient in Ambien and other prescription sleep aids, from 2005 to 2010 (suicide attempts, bad reactions to the correct dosage of zolpidem, and cases where people had taken the drug without a prescription were not counted). Focusing on “overmedication,” or instances where the patient overdosed solely on zolpidem or used it in combination with alcohol or other drugs, the SAMHSA found that the number of ER visits nearly doubled, from roughly 22,000 in 2005 and 2006 to just over 42,000 in 2009 and 2010.

Women in particular were especially vulnerable, making up roughly two-thirds of all zolpidem-related mishaps. Although women are only slightly more likely to use prescription sleep aids (5 percent of women take them, as opposed to 3.1 percent of men), they’re also slower to metabolize them. Last year, prompted by reports of residual next-day drowsiness, the Food and Drug Administration told sleeping-pill manufacturers to halve the recommended dosage for female patients (it suggested, but did not require, that the companies lower the dosage for male patients as well).

[el_bryanto]

1. It is a depressing commentary on modern life.

We work to hard for too little satisfaction.

Bryant

[RKP5637]

2. +1, n/t

[KurtNYC]

3. 9 to 5 work hours come from one-size fits all kind of thinking

some people are night people, some are early morning risers so many have to force their body to live with the schedule set for them by their employer or the demands of motherhood / care giving.

To my way of thinking, pills aren't the answer. we need to adapt our schedule to our body's, and avoid forcing our body to wake and sleep at times it doesn't want to.

Another factor is over stimulation. TV, Twitter, Facebook, video games, caffeine, nicotine, Ritalin all bombarding the brain and keeping it over active. We under estimate the value and health enhancement of quiet -- if not auditory quiet, stimulation quiet. We need more Zen and less pills.

[tridim]

4. SMH.. So sad.

All natural Cannabis works great for sleep, but unfortunately it has the side-effect of jail which tends to cause anxiety and sleeplessness.

I will never take sleeping pills, I value my life too much.

[CTyankee]

5. I get a low dose ambien (one pill) from my doc for my overnight flights to

Europe every year. One pill. I don't need them coming back as I take a morning flight.

The ambien, which I sometimes halve, allows me to sleep at least for a couple of hours on the 7.5 hour flight. Staying up all night is not a good option. Also I don't have any coffee on the flight or any alcohol.

It's not a perfect plan but it does work. I'm always pretty jazzed up for my trip so I can weather the tiredness the next day with a bit of a nap after getting in...but not long...

[Ms. Toad]

6. I'm not disputing that there are abuses.

But sleeping pills can, literally, be lifesavers. I have 25 days left from my 90 day prescription which I filled on 12/28/2012. Obviously, I use them rarely.

When I use them, though, I use them because emotional turmoil (generally related to the chronic, progressive health issues of family members) has kept me from sleeping well for at least two nights in a row - and I need to get enough sleep to be functional (because I am the sole breadwinner & health manager in the family), and aside from maintaining reasonable functionality - lack of sleep contributes to ongoing situational depression. My mind races with everything that is on my shoulders, and does so every time I wake during the night, and I can't shut it off. Ambien does that for me, with no next day impact other than a slight increase in difficulty in grabbing the right word.

Sleeping pills are not inherently evil, or inconsistent with life. In fact, cannabis was one of the early hypnotics (the class into which Ambien falls) which was used in sleeping aids. http://antiquecannabisbook.com/chap18/Sedative.htm

[tridim]

8. I've had all the sleep issues you describe and always get though it without pharmaceuticals

It's not always easy, but in the end I'm always glad I didn't cheat my body and alter the natural rhythms of life.

But I do understand the human desire to just take a pill and make it go away RIGHT NOW. It seems like an easy solution, until you start doing research on the side-effects.

There are better ways... That's just my opinion. Good luck!

BTW, research "Adrenal Fatigue", "cortisol" and "Vitamin C". It might help.

[Zorra]

7. I took a sleeping pill once about 16 yrs ago.

It gave me a terrible hangover and I was a zombie the next day. Icky chemicals. It was worse than not sleeping.

[n2doc]

9. I find taking a melatonin tab works for me most nights

If I need something stronger I take one of those over the counter meds.
Have tried Ambien, no like. Worked the first night, then gave be insomnia and bad nightmares the next couple of nights.