{"id":28471,"date":"2016-09-16T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/sleeping-pills-safe-2546"},"modified":"2024-04-22T10:22:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:22:43","slug":"sleeping-pills-safe-2546","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/blog-es\/sleeping-pills-safe-2546","title":{"rendered":"Are Prescription Sleeping Pills Safe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

Side effects, risks and abuse issues of sleep aides<\/h2>\n

\"\"A third of Americans suffer from some form of insomnia and many turn, at some point, to prescription sleeping pills to deliver a good night\u2019s sleep. A sleeping pill can be an effective, short-term solution for insomnia but it\u2019s important to know the side effects and risks \u2013 and what happens when sedatives are misused.<\/p>\n

A Best Buy survey<\/a>, conducted by Lisa Schwartz M.D., former FDA advisory council member, found that people who took a sleeping pill every night for 3 months fell asleep just 6 minutes faster on average than those who took a placebo. And those on the real sleeping pill slept on average only 16 minutes longer than people given a placebo.<\/p>\n

Hardly seems worth it, does it?<\/p>\n

The morning after the pill\u2026<\/h2>\n

While limited relief is a concern, the morning-after-effect of sleeping pills is even more worrisome. In 2015, the American Journal of Public Health reported that people taking sleeping pills were as likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident as those driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit.<\/p>\n

To turn the tide of the bad press, many prescription sleep aide brands began to caution users to remain in bed for 7 to 8 hours after taking their appropriate dosage. And to reduce next-day drowsiness, the FDA now recommends half doses for Ambien and Lunesta. Ambien and Belsomra labels actually caution users against driving at all the day after taking the pill.<\/p>\n

Are women more at risk with sleeping pills?<\/h2>\n

Research, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, found that the number of emergency room visits involving overmedication of sleeping pills doubled between 2005 and 2010 and that women accounted for two thirds of those visits.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen tend to metabolize sleeping pills slower than men do, but many people\u2014including some doctors\u2014don’t know this,\u00bb\u00a0Carl Bazil, M.D., director of sleep and epilepsy at Columbia University told Women\u2019s Health Magazine<\/a>. \u00abAnd when they take too high a dose, the effect is extra strong.\u00bb<\/p>\n

Sleeping pills and addiction risks<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re considering sleeping pills to help solve your insomnia, be aware of the immediate and long term dangers, which can range from minor fatigue to debilitating addiction to coma. Common symptoms of sleeping pill abuse include:<\/p>\n