It is truly shocking when you look at the list of medications that negatively affect sleep. Insomnia is a commonly listed side effect of numerous prescription and over-the-counter drugs; they can cause a wide variety of disruptions in the sleep cycle including nervous system overstimulation in the early stages of sleep and nightmares in the later stages. Drugs affect the chemicals called neurotransmitters, which govern brainwave activity. Pseudophedrine (in Sudafed and other cold medicines) is a good example of how medicines affect sleep; many people using it regularly suffer unwittingly from debilitating over-stimulation – including insomnia from even a small daytime dose of decongestants. Antihistamines in cold remedies, on the other hand, actually make you drowsy. Many of the most commonly prescribed medications in America are on the list of drugs that affect sleep (unbeknownst to patients and, usually, their doctors, as well) including blood pressure medications, antiseizure medications, antihistamines, decongestants, and antidepressants. This is just one of many reasons that my goal for all patients is to reduce the number of medications they take by implementing lifestyle changes whenever possible.
Sleeping pills
Sleeping pills are useful when acute stress or health conditions occasionally interfere with falling or staying asleep. They can also be used to reset the circadian rhythms of your biological clock when you're traveling. They become a problem when people use them chronically. First of all, sleeping pills do not guarantee healthy sleep architecture or complete elimination of daytime sleepiness. To do that, you need to treat the underlying condition and get to the source of the problem that causes insomnia (i.e., daytime anxiety). You will not get a magic, permanent fix from a pill. The quick-fix mentality can actually lead to a worsening of the sleep problem over time and to the appearance of other problems related to lack of sleep. Polypharmacy – the prescribing of multiple medications, often for the same conditions – has been an increasing problem, occasionally with tragic consequences, from the 1962 death of Marilyn Monroe to 2008's Heath Ledger.
A brief synopsis of medicinal sleeping aids contains two broad categories: those that leave you drowsy in the morning and could become habit forming, and those that produce addiction and/or dependency. The former group includes soporific antidepressants (tricyclics such as Elavil and SSRIs such as Paxil), the newer melatonin receptor agonist Rozerem, and OTC antihistamines (Sominex, Benadryl). The other group contains solely prescriptive sleeping medications that can be addictive – such as barbiturates (phenobarbital, Seconal), benzodiazepines (Dalmane, Valium, Klonopin), and narcotics (codeine, hydrocodone) – or can produce dependency such as Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta.
I am not dismissing the use of prescription sleeping pills: I prescribe them myself sometimes (though rarely compared with most other physicians). Judicious occasional use of these powerful medications can be helpful for acute distress or jetlag, and are necessary for others with more severe medical conditions or severe sleep disorders, especially when overseen by a sleep disorders specialist. But there are many other ways that sleeping problems can and should be addressed.
Read more:
• The top 10 mental healh myths
• The top 10 ways to fight stress
• 8 cures for crankiness
Page 5 of 5
Excerpted from The Source, copyright 2008 by Woodson Merrell. Used by permission of Random House Canada. All Rights Reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.
