SLEEPIN

G PILLS
POPA GEORGIANA
II B AMG
 What are sleeping pills?

• As the name suggests, sleeping pills help you

catch some sleep. People who have sleep disorders
like insomnia may take these medications to help
them fall asleep. Sleeping medicines can also help
you stay asleep if you’re prone to waking up in the
middle of the night.
 What are other names for sleeping pills?

• Sleeping pills go by many names:

• Hypnotics.
• Sedatives.
• Sleep aids.
• Sleep medicine.
• Tranquilizers.
How do sleeping pills work?

• There are various types of sleeping pills. Each

works differently. Some sleep aids cause
drowsiness, while others silence the area of the
brain that keeps you alert.
 The pros and cons of sleeping pills
• Pro: Medication can be useful as a last resort.
• Sleeping pills are typically only used for particularly bad
spells of insomnia. Insomnia can be caused by stress,
travel, or other disruptions that keep you awake. Longer
term insomnia is often caused by your daily lifestyle and
behavior.
• Pro: You can target your sleep problem.
• The two main types of chronic insomnia are acute sleep
onset insomnia (struggling to fall asleep) and sleep-
maintenance insomnia (struggling to stay asleep during the
night). Some sleeping pills work best for either one type or
the other.
• Unfortunately, this means that while some sleeping pills
may help you get to sleep, you might still wake up in the
middle of the night, for example.
• Cons: You may develop a tolerance
• Prescription insomnia drugs, such as z-drugs (which include
medications like Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta) and
benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, and Ativan) are not
approved for long-term use or to treat chronic insomnia
because they carry a risk of addiction.
• If you take your sleeping pills longer than prescribed in order
to treat chronic insomnia, you may find your tolerance
increasing, meaning you require a higher dosage for the same
effect. Additionally, if used incorrectly, you might suffer
from “rebound insomnia,” which can be worse than what you
experienced before you started taking the drug.
• Cons: There may be side effects
• Most medications for insomnia can cause irritating and
even dangerous side effects. For example,
antihistamines, which are usually found in over-the-
counter (OTC) sleep medication, can often cause dry
mouth, blurred vision, dizziness, constipation, and
confusion upon waking.
• Prescription drugs, such as z-drugs, can also cause
similar side effects, such as dry mouth, dizziness,
headaches, memory problems, daytime drowsiness,
nausea, and constipation. However, they are also
associated with serious side effects called complex sleep
behaviors, where you attempt to go about normal
activities but are not fully awake, such as sleepwalking
and sleep-driving.