At Dodow, we have chosen to find a natural way to help you fall asleep. Because the alternative is sleeping pills… and we don’t want that! We will tell you why it is not our tool of choice for falling asleep quickly, and why it should be absolutely avoided during pregnancy insomnia.
What are sleeping pills?
- Benzodiazepines
This psychotropic is the most used sleeping pill. It was created not to be prescribed beyond 7 to 10 days, although today it is prescribed much longer (wrongly). One in five French people takes it at least once a year; it acts on the nerve endings of the brain and relaxes the muscles.
- Barbiturates
These sedatives were the original sleeping pills. They act on the central nervous system and can reduce or even stop your breathing, put you into a coma, or cause hypothermia (all simultaneously). They affect the liver and interfere with other medications you might have taken at the same time, such as certain contraceptives and anticoagulants.
Barbiturates are particularly toxic in case of overdose, so much so that since 2001 the most used barbiturate (phenobarbital) has been banned from sleeping pills and can only be used in epilepsy due to its anticonvulsant properties.
- Antihistamines
Yes, these are the same antihistamines you take to fight allergies – they also have sleeping properties. But they are also (among other things) anti-dopaminergic and anti-serotonergic, which does nothing for your mood… Side effects also include increased photosensitivity, dry mouth, and constipation.
The high price for your body
Let’s not beat around the bush: the first thing to know is that sleeping pills present a deadly danger in the long term. A 2012 British Medical Journal study on patients at a sleep center in California shows there is a correlation between taking sleeping pills and premature death, whether you are a frequent user or an occasional consumer.
This study, from 2002 to 2007, was conducted after examining 24,000 individuals divided into two groups, those taking sleeping pills and those not. The results are not reassuring: the group taking sleeping pills had their risk of death multiplied by 4, and by 3 for those who took at least 18 pills per year. They also showed a 35% higher risk of cancer than normal, not to mention problems with esophageal reflux and ulcers, vigilance and attention problems, possible worsening of sleep apnea, respiratory problems during the night, lung infections, sleepwalking behaviors, and so on.
Among older patients, there are risks of loss of balance or falls (particularly dangerous for seniors) and memory impairment (notably with Alzheimer’s disease) – it is even suspected to negatively affect the neuronal aging process. A University of Washington study found a correlation between long-term use of sleeping pills and the onset of dementia in people over 65 years old.
A tendency to overconsumption
Do you remember the urban myth that the French are no longer the biggest consumers of antidepressants in Europe – after so long repeating this information, it is no longer true… but only because consumption in other European countries has increased! All of Europe is therefore on an ultra-medicated slope. According to ANSM (the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines), 11.5 million French people consumed sleeping pills or anxiolytics in 2012, 30% more than the European average.
However, these sleeping pills are not prescribed by themselves. Generally, these unnecessary prescriptions are given either during surgery or hospitalization, or when the prescription is automatically renewed. There is no secret: the appeal of sleeping pills is their almost immediate effectiveness, and doctors as well as patients too often resort to the easy way despite the consequences.
Once started, it is all the harder to stop: 25% of people who take sleeping pills for more than 3 months become dependent – they will suffer withdrawal symptoms if they try to stop, but will have to increase the dose for them to remain effective.
Yet effective alternative solutions exist, such as meditation or cognitive-behavioral therapies, which treat sleep problems at the root. However, they require a minimum long-term investment from the patient.
That is why we developed Dodow, to simplify learning these relaxation exercises and offer a turnkey solution to people wishing to regain sleep by themselves.
Relative effectiveness
The irony is that sleeping and anti-anxiety medications are preferred for their ease and effectiveness, but in reality they are not even as effective as we think. The American Food & Drug Administration found, for example, that Sonata (a sleeping pill among many others) did not lengthen patients’ sleep time. Those who took a 10 milligram dose and those who did not take medication all slept about 6 hours and 20 minutes. Those who did not take drugs took 36 minutes on average to fall asleep during the first week of examination, only 14 minutes less than the medicated group.
One in 20 people said they were tired the next day, and some of them reported memory problems...
If you have no choice
Insomnia is most often a symptom of another underlying disease, possibly neurological in origin. Narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia, for example. In the event that nothing works and you find yourself in the impossible position of having to take sleeping pills to function in society, there are safety imperatives to remember to minimize your risks.
- Never take an extra dose “to see if it works better,” or in the middle of the night if you wake up.
- Never take doses with alcohol or other “recreational” drugs (while we’re at it, don’t take recreational drugs). This can trigger side effects (sleepwalking, memory loss, hallucinations).
- No antihistamines and sleeping pills at the same time, high risk of dependence.
- No sleeping pills to treat anxiety or depression. There are other medications or therapies to get through it.
- Do not take sleeping pills if you have less than 8 hours available to sleep without interruption, or if you plan to do something requiring concentration, such as driving.
- Try not to take sleeping pills for more than a week. It is after 3 months that you pass the definitive threshold where it will be almost impossible to get rid of them, but better to start early.
For more precise scientific information, you can take a look here:
Inserm article on the adverse effects of benzodiazepines
Article on the link between hypnotics and cancer
2008 Consumers Union report on the effectiveness of sleeping pills
Study on benzodiazepine use related to Alzheimer’s disease
Risks related to benzodiazepine use according to ANSM
Study on Sonata, an American hypnotic
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