SLEEPING PILLS – HIGH RISK FOR LOW RETURN?
Studies have suggested that around a fifth of people experience side effects (which include memory loss, fatigue and impaired balance) from sleeping pills, and one in 100 older people will fall or have a car accident after taking them. But after you’ve gone night after night without shuteye, these risks may just sound worth it if they’ll guarantee a decent night’s rest. However, it turns out that sleeping pills don’t seem to be a fail-proof solution to combat insomnia. In fact, they may be only 50% effective. After re-analysing results from clinical trials conducted on the most popular type of sleeping pills, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, researchers found that half of the benefit of taking these sleeping pills seems to be down to the placebo effect. So, perhaps you should try psychological treatments for insomnia, which have been found to work as effectively as sleeping tablets in both the short and long term, before resorting to risky pills.
Studies have suggested that around a fifth of people experience side effects (which include memory loss, fatigue and impaired balance) from sleeping pills, and one in 100 older people will fall or have a car accident after taking them. But after you’ve gone night after night without shuteye, these risks may just sound worth it if they’ll guarantee a decent night’s rest. However, it turns out that sleeping pills don’t seem to be a fail-proof solution to combat insomnia. In fact, they may be only 50% effective. After re-analysing results from clinical trials conducted on the most popular type of sleeping pills, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, researchers found that half of the benefit of taking these sleeping pills seems to be down to the placebo effect. So, perhaps you should try psychological treatments for insomnia, which have been found to work as effectively as sleeping tablets in both the short and long term, before resorting to risky pills.
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