What Do You Need To Know About Sleeping Pills?

In industrialized countries, because of people’s current lifestyle, many have difficulty falling asleep. Sleeping pills have only become a more common help for insomnia and other sleep disorders. 

Sleeping pills are highly sought after today. However, we should be careful not to misuse them as they can have negative effects on health. In this article, we look at various sleep problems and talk about the sleeping pills available on the market.

What is insomnia?

This very common disease in industrialized countries is a sleep disorder  characterized by the patient’s inability to fall asleep or stay asleep to ensure a quality of enough sleep to  restore their energy levels and normal wakefulness.

The results of numerous studies on this disease show that it is caused by some other latent disease instead of insomnia itself. This is important information as it directs treatment towards the problem that triggers the sleep problem.

Insomnia can also be classified according to its duration and nature:

• Transient. Insomnia lasts for less than seven days, as some women, for example, do before menstruation.
• Acute. This type of insomnia lasts from a week to three weeks.
• Chronic. Insomnia has lasted for more than three weeks.

Focusing on the nature of insomnia, we can classify it as follows:

• Initiation of sleep – the patient has difficulty falling asleep.
• Maintaining sleep – the  patient has difficulty staying asleep.
• Early awakening
• General

Sleeping pills help improve sleep quality

Sleeping pills are psychoactive psychotropic substances that promote falling asleep,  causing drowsiness. There are six treatments for insomnia. The doctor starts from the first and then moves on to the next if the previous one was not effective.

The first form of treatment: natural herbs

People use natural substances extensively to treat this problem. The most popular are virma root, linden, passion flower and opioids. Some patients resort to other treatments such as homeopathy.

Another form of treatment: benzodiazepine-free sleeping pills

Such hypnotics are selective GABA receptor agonists. GABA is actually a mediator that inhibits the central nervous system. Examples of such drugs are zolpidem, zopiclone and escyclone.

These drugs bring good results because of their effectiveness and resistance. For this reason, they have become the first option when choosing sleeping pills, especially when it comes to treating acute insomnia. However, they are less effective in treating chronic insomnia.

Third treatment: benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are commonly used sleeping pills to treat insomnia. Unlike the drugs mentioned above, these are not selective GABA receptors.

They have replaced other medicines (barbiturates) as the first sleeping pill option. Despite their very effective effect, they alter the natural structure of sleep, varying REM sleep and causing significant side effects.

These drugs can also cause tolerance and dependence. Their use should therefore be controlled and patients should be well aware of it.

Fourth form of treatment: antidepressants with a sleep-promoting effect

People have been using antidepressants as sleeping pills for some time. Below are some examples:

• Mirtazapine
• Trazodone
• Amitriptyline

Like benzodiazepines, these drugs can interfere with REM sleep. However, they do it in a different way. These drugs produce a sleepy effect due to their anticholinergic action and improve aminergic transmission of nerve impulses.

Often when a patient suffers from chronic insomnia, benzodiazepines are not sufficient to treat it. Therefore, they should take these medicines as adjunctive therapy.

Fifth form of treatment: antipsychotics for insomnia

When none of the above drugs produce the desired effect,  antipsychotics or neuroleptic drugs may prove effective. 

Some of the medicines commonly used for this disease are:

• Haloperidol
• Quetiapine
• Clozapine

They are usually used to treat elderly patients and to treat patients with nausea, mania, psychosis or insomnia.

We would also like to mention that the last or sixth form of treatment consists of other drugs such as antihistamines, melatonin or gabapentin, which are commonly used for mild insomnia, such as time-induced fatigue insomnia, which occurs when traveling from one time zone to another.

Summary

Today, there is a large selection of sleeping pills available to help fight insomnia. Talk to your doctor about the most appropriate medications for you and always follow his or her recommendations.