The number of adults taking meds to help them sleep doubled in the last decade or so, according to the CDC. Clearly a lot of us are tossing and turning in our beds and waking up even more tired the next day.
But why? Research is pointing the finger at pain or other health problems, needing to use the restroom (which may or may not also be caused by a health problem), and here’s the biggie: worry. Looks like recent history has stressed us all out.
And why is it that your worries most like to visit you at 3 a.m.?
We may not have the definitive answer on that one, but we do know that taking a sleep aid every night isn’t great. And often, those solutions offered online—like “sleep hygiene” and not reading your phone in bed and the like—prove less than satisfactory to the frustrated and fatigued. No wonder so many pop a pill.
But like most medications, sleeping pills come with a list in tiny print of possibly serious side effects you’re probably not reading. They’re not recommended at all for people over 65 because they stick around in your body longer and can cause confusion and drowsiness the next day.
And let’s not even start on the famously weird possible effects of Ambien, which has caused some people to sleep eat, sleep cook and even sleep drive. (WHAT.)
Prescription sleeping aids also can be addictive with abuse or overuse, some forms more than others.
Think you’re avoiding all these problems by sticking with over-the-counter solutions like melatonin? Well … here’s something maybe no one told you, ladies of child-bearing age. According to Healthline, “Birth control pills increase the natural melatonin in your body. When they’re used in combination with melatonin, your levels of melatonin may become too high.” Ironically, this can make you very tired.
“Melatonin can also interact with other medications, including blood thinners, immunosuppressants, and diabetes medications,” Healthline adds.
So, what’s a night-time worrier to do? WebMD says if you suffer insomnia for just four weeks, you should make an appointment with your doctor to get to the bottom of it. If you’ve been suffering a lifetime, then you’re overdue.
Your doctor or nurse practitioner—like one of us at Internists Associated!—can walk you through the list of reasons sleep may be eluding you, attempt to solve rather than bandaid the problem, and help you obtain the sleep aids that will actually aid—and not do more harm than good.
Sleep driving? C’mon. No one has time for that.