Chemical Sleeping Pills – Yes or No?

When you consistently have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep, or both, it can be very appealing to turn to sleeping pills to solve your problem. Sleeping pills can be very helpful, but can also create new problems. So is taking a drug to relieve your symptoms of insomnia a good idea?

Unfortunately...

Taking a drug for anything can lead to a higher tolerance, and then to dependence. In the case of sleeping pills, continued use can result in needing higher and higher doses in order to get to sleep. For this reason, many sleeping pills can only be taken for a two week period before they lose their effectiveness.

Becoming dependent on a sleeping aid can cause your sleep to be much worse without it than it was prior to taking the sleeping medication, or unable to sleep without it at all. If this happens, going off the drug will likely result in withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, sweating, nausea and vomiting.

Other possible side effects of taking sleeping pills include strange dreams, feeling tired the next day, having a dry mouth and/or throat and many others. In the elderly, side effects such as delirium, confusion and dizziness are more likely. But it’s not all bad.

On The Positive Side

When taken correctly, sleeping pills can be the quickest way to relieve the symptoms of insomnia, and can help you to achieve a decent night’s sleep. This will consequently improve your general health and make you feel more calm and relaxed. Getting quality sleep increases your energy and improves your moods, basically improving your quality of life.

Do I Need Them?

Sleeping pills might be for you if you are suffering from insomnia. If you frequently have trouble falling asleep, or if you often wake up during the night or too early in the morning, you may want to consider trying sleeping pills. However, taking a sleeping medication should be a last resort, and an option that isn’t considered until other methods of improving sleep have been tried.

Thus, there are a number of pros and cons to taking sleeping pills to help you get a good night’s sleep. The appeal of a quick fix to your sleeping troubles can cause you to ignore the possibility of negative side effects. Being a big fan of sleep myself, I would definitely give them a go. What have you got to lose, except more sleep?