While you sleep, the body goes about doing repair job. That is why, after a good night's sleep (read quality sleep), you feel so refreshed and raring to go. But, in spite of being tired, if you cannot sleep, what do you do? Pop a pill (in the hope of getting a deep sleep and going about your regular activities with renewed zest and vigor the next day)! Many a times, you wake up the next day with a headache or dizziness. Let us look into the side effects of sleep medications.
Types of Sleep Medications
1. Sedative Hypnotics
This class of drugs depresses the central nervous system and causes sedation. They are helpful both in inducing and maintaining sleep. Benzodiazepines and barbiturates come under this category.
The side effects of benzodiazepines are:
- These are addictive in nature, and you could get dependent on it physically and psychologically. Chances of developing rebound insomnia and anxiety is big, and you may suffer withdrawal symptoms.
- The quality of sleep goes down. You may experience nightmares and dry mouth.
- You could experience hangover of the sleeping pill taken the previous night, such as headache, weakness, drowsiness, and loss of appetite.
2. Anti-Anxiety Medications
This class of drugs induces sleep by increasing drowsiness. These are effective only for some time, because they are addictive in nature and as a result you may have to keep increasing the dosage to get the same effect. Some of the benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, Ativan, and Librium come under this category.
The side effects of anti-anxiety medications are:
- Weakness
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Headaches
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Changes in appetite
- Gas
- Heartburn
- Loss of balance
- Stomach pain and tenderness
- Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs
3. Melatonin Receptor Agonist Hypnotics
This is a new type of sleeping pill which imitates the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone that helps regulate the body's circadian sleep-wake cycle. However, the effect of this drug is limited to sleep onset; it does not help you stay asleep. There is no dependency on the drug.
Side effects include:
- The most common side effect is dizziness.
- It worsens already existing depression.
- It is contraindicated for people with severe liver damage.
4. Antidepressants
As the name indicates, antidepressants are prescribed for people having depression. These are not approved by FDA as a sleeping pill. Also, they are not effective to cure insomnia. However, some physicians believe that the main reason of insomnia is depression; therefore, they prescribe antidepressant for insomnia.
These also carry side effects:
- The risk of suicidal thoughts and worsening of depression is there, especially in children and adolescents, while using this class of drugs.
Serious Side Effects of Sleeping Pills
Sometimes, there could arise some serious side effects with all categories of sleep medications:
1. Allergic Reactions
- Facial swelling
- Memory lapses
- Hallucinations
- Blurred vision
- Other sight problems
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Throat closing sensation
2. Parasomnia (Complex Sleep-Related Behaviors)
- Sleep walking
- Sleep driving
- Sleep eating
- Making phone calls in a sleepy state
- Having sex while in a sleepy state
Asthma/COPD and Sleeping Pills
For people having asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), sleeping pills are either not prescribed or very cautiously done so. As sleeping pills cause the breath to become shallow and slow, it may cause problems in people having asthma or COPD even to the extent of causing death. Therefore, people suffering from asthma or COPD should not take sleeping pills more than the recommended dose, if at all.
Alcohol and Sleeping Pills
This indeed is a "deadly" combination. This combination increases the sedative effect of the sleep medications. Therefore, when taking sleeping pills, one should never take alcohol! Even the fine prints on the sleep medication covers indicate this.
The dependency on sleeping pills starts just in the same manner as you start smoking or drinking. One day, you did not get sleep, you just tried it, you felt good. After a week or so, again, you wanted to sleep well, and reached out to your medicine shelf for another pill. This way, before you know it, you are dependent on the pill. A better way of solving the problem would be finding ways to stress free your life and doing daily exercises, etc.
Parasomnias with sleeping pills are complex sleep behaviors and may include sleep eating, making phone calls, or having sex while in a sleep state. Sleep driving, which is driving while not fully awake, is another serious sleeping pill side effect. Though rare, parasomnias are difficult to detect once the medication takes effect.