Sleeping pills 'linked to increased death risk'

Sleeping pills used by thousands of people in the UK appear to be linked with a higher death risk, doctors warn.

The American study in BMJ Open compared more than 10,000 patients on tablets like temazepam with 23,000 similar patients not taking these drugs.Tramadol Capsules Sleeping Tablets

Death risk among users was about four times higher, although the absolute risk was still relatively low.

Experts say while the findings highlight a potential risk, proof of harm is still lacking.

They say patients should not be alarmed nor stop their medication, but if they are concerned they should discuss this with their doctor or pharmacist.

UK guidelines for NHS staff say hypnotic drugs should only be used for short periods of time because of tolerance to the drug and the risk of dependency. But they make no mention of an associated death risk, despite other studies having already reported this potential risk.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said it would consider the results of this latest study and whether it has any implications for current prescribing guidance.
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    The study needs to be replicated in a different sample and I think we need to hold judgement until we have further studies”

Malcolm Lader Professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London
Millions prescribed

In 2010 in England, there were 2.8 million prescriptions dispensed for temazepam and almost 5.3 million for another common sleeping pill called zopiclone.

There were also more than 725,000 prescriptions dispensed for zolpidem and more than 9,400 for zaleplon, two other drugs in this same family.

The latest study looked at a wide range of sleeping pills, including drugs used in the UK, such as benzodiazepines (temazepam and diazepam), non-benzodiazepines (zolpidem, zopiclone and zaleplon), barbiturates and sedative antihistamines.

The investigators, from the Jackson Hole Centre for Preventive Medicine in Wyoming and the Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Centre in California, found that people prescribed these pills were 4.6 times more likely to die during a 2.5-year period compared to those not on the drugs.

Overall, one in every 16 patients in the sleeping pill group died (638 out of 10,531 in total) compared to one in every 80 of the non-users (295 deaths out of 23,674 patients).

This increased risk was irrespective of other underlying health conditions, such as heart and lung diseases, and other factors like smoking and alcohol use, which the researchers say they did their best to rule out.

The researchers say it is not yet clear why people taking sleeping tablets may be at greater risk.

The drugs are sedating and this may make users more prone to falls and other accidents. The tablets can also alter a person's breathing pattern as they sleep and they have been linked to increased suicide risk.
'Meagre benefits'

In this latest study, those taking the highest doses of sleeping tablets also appeared to be at greater risk of developing cancer.

The researchers say: "The meagre benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks."

They say even short-term use may not be justifiable.

But Malcolm Lader, professor of clinical psychopharmacology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said people should not panic as a result of the findings.

"The study needs to be replicated in a different sample and I think we need to hold judgement until we have further studies.

"What we don't want is people stopping sleeping tablets and then going through a very disturbing period of insomnia.

"People should discuss this with their GP but should not under any circumstances stop taking their medication."

Nina Barnett, of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: "This is an important study and although it is unlikely to radically change prescribing in the immediate term, it should raise awareness and remind both patients and prescribers to the potential risks of sedative use for insomnia.

"The association between mortality and sedation is not new and this research tells us that people who took these medicines were more likely to die than people who didn't take them.

"However it does not mean that the deaths were caused by the medicine."

A spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said the safety of medicines was closely monitored and continued even after regulatory approval.

I cry myself to sleep if i dont take sleeping pills (temazepam) - what can i do?

I just got sick of having anxiety attacks and being up for hours or crying myself to sleep so i have started taking 3 temazepam pills a night.

Even when i was seeing a psych regularly i still had sleeping issues. I love how the temazepam works- i fall asleep in half an hour and i dont wake up through the night. It makes me so relaxed and it numbs all my feelings.

My doctor said i should take one pill per night but one does nothing for me and the max daily dose is 3 so thats what i take because i need that many to work.Temazepam Sleeping Tablets

I have heard the withdrawels are terrible and if you take for a period longer than about a month you can start to become like an unemotional zombie and really slow as well. I like how it makes me not feel anything.

If i had my way i would like someone to hug me while i fall asleep - i used to sleep ok when i was in a relationship. Theres no guy i really want to be with right now and i dont want to share my bed with a guy im not really into - id rather be alone and take pills. If i had a dog that slept on the end of my bed i would be ok too but i live in an apartment so i cant. Im worried they are going to really screw me up.

sleeping pill that promises no side effects and targets the ROOT cause of insomnia

A pill which promises a good night’s sleep without side-effects could be on its way.

The drug, which has already been successfully tested on animals, could allow people to sleep soundly at night and wake up without the groggy feeling that blights many other tablets.

Billed as ‘a good night’s sleep without the side-effects’, the tablet, which is known only as DORA-22, works in a different way to the existing pills taken by millions of Britons.

It and similar drugs could ‘usher in a new era for insomnia treatment’ the journal Science Translational Medicine reports.

Some 15million prescriptions for sleeping pills are written out each year and although newer drugs produce fewer side-effects patients can still experience problems with concentration and grogginess

Concerns that Britain has become a nation of sleeping pill addicts has led to doctors being urged to first try alternative treatments such as counselling.

Most of the £50million a year spent by the NHS on sleeping pills, or hypnotics, as they are known to doctors, goes on drugs that target a calming brain chemical called GABA.

In contrast, DORA-22 works on orexin, a brain compound that helps keep us awake.

In tests, rats given the drug slept longer than those given a dummy pill.sleeping tablets online

And after being given the drug, the creatures remained free of the memory problems that affected rats given Valium or one of two more modern sleeping pills.

Similarly, monkeys given the other pills suffered problems with memory and alertness.

However, DORA-22 was free of those problems and did not impact on reaction times, even when given at extremely high doses.

The pharmaceutical giant, Merck, which is developing the drug, said that the tests mimicked a situation in which someone would wake up shortly after taking a sleeping pill. It added that more work is needed to check that the pill doesn’t cause grogginess the next morning.

DORA-22 is only being used in lab tests at the moment.

However, another drug in the same family has been tested on people and is very close to the market.

An accompanying article, also in the journal Science Translational Medicine, says that such tablets could usher in a new era for insomnia treatment.

However, the commentary’s author, a sleep researcher from Stanford University in the US, also urges caution, saying that the search for the perfect sleeping pill has been ‘marked by cycles of exuberance followed by disappointment, as adverse side-effects have emerged following widespread use’.

He adds that only time will tell if DORA-22, and similar drugs, are ‘the perfect hypnotics’.

Professor Colin Espie, founder of the sleep centre at Glasgow University, warned that tampering with orexin might produce other side-effects such as an increase in appetite.

He added that the real challenge will be to find a pill that gets to the root cause of insomnia, rather than merely being a quick fix.

Top 3 Sleeping Pills Revealed!

How many times have you been bothered by sleeping at night? How many times have you experienced being awake until the wee hours of the morning? This situation is alarming isn’t it? Even if you keep on asking yourself about what you can do while hoping sleep will come, well you cannot find the answer. It’s insomnia and you better do something about it.sleeping tablets online zopiclone

Sleeping Problems and Dealing with it in the First Place

Well, you won’t know you have insomnia unless you start considering signs that may bother you. Yes, it is not a good condition and it may bother anyone at any stage in life. You will know you have it when you are unable to focus on your daily task. Also, you can use signs such as frequent headaches and irritation to say you have the condition. At times, you may also feel that sleeping is better when you are in another place. On top of all this, you will notice you have difficulties sleeping at night. In fact, it may even take you hours before you are taken to deep slumber.

Knowing the signs of insomnia means dealing with the problem in the first place. These very same signs are useful for you to answer questions to be raised by your sleep doctors (that is, if you go to them and ask help for the problem). Nonetheless, you can resort to several solutions that may help.

Natural Remedies to Sleep Problems

We can call these “natural ways to get to sleep better”. First, you can make use of relaxation techniques. Perhaps, these will be beneficial as these can calm the soul. Listen to good music and the beautiful harmonies and melodies of nature. Don’t dwell on the things that stress you. Visualize and look into a better tomorrow. Also included are yoga practices.

Add to relaxation techniques, you may also start focusing on your diet. There are certain foods you eat that may bring about the sleeping problem. As much as possible, you should avoid certain foods with caffeine and sweets. Magnesium-rich foods will help as they can lessen irritability and anxiety. Whole grain crackers will also be of help to the plight.

Using Sleeping Pills

Another proven sleep aid are sleeping pills. Sleeping pills come in different brands and blends and may really help alter sleep patterns until such time you can sleep using them. However, here is a word of advice for those who will take them. Sleeping pills may cause dependency thus you better check on what is contained in the product. Ingredients…ingredients…ingredients…this is the first factor to consider if you want to make the right choice.

Also, you may assess customer feedbacks. Look into how they appreciate these products and how great it worked for them less dependency and addiction problems. If it did work for them, it is less probable that it will not work for you, right?

We, at sleepingpillsreviews.net have noted some of the best sleeping pills in the market less the harmful side effects. We have gathered data to check on the efficacy of these sleeping pills. Here are top 3 products we would want you to try.

Alcohol And Sleeping Pills - A Deadly Mix

Being arrested for a DWI can be a huge hassle for all people involved. Once you are arrested, you will then have to call an Austin DWI lawyer to come and help you with your case. Some people even take this a step further and take some sort of pills to go along with the alcohol. Sleeping pills for instance can cause some bad effects if they are combined with alcohol.

Alcohol usually acts as a depressant which slows your body down and makes you feel tired. Alcohol also tends to relax all of your muscles. Alcohol tends to amplify any snoring you might have and make it louder than it normally would be. Alcohol by itself can also cause what is called obstructive sleep Apnoea. Obstructive sleep Apnoea is when you are sleeping and there are parts of time where you are not breathing at all.

Sleeping pills, much like alcohol, act as a depressant. Sleeping pills are made to make your body feel relaxed and to make you feel drowsy enough to want to go to sleep. These sleeping pills are also made for you to be able to sleep at least 8 hours of rest. Some of the sleeping pills out there have been linked to the pill that is called the "date-rape" drug. This is a drug used to make victims fall asleep hard enough to not realize what is happening. dormidina sleeping tablets


Mixing alcohol and sleeping pills can be a somewhat horrible mix. Because both of these pills are depressants, they can cause some serious side effects if they are taken at the same time. When they are taken together, they cause your body to relax more than it really should. This means that your breathing drastically is slowed down. This is bad because the less oxygen gets to your blood cells the more your blood pressure drops. Your blood pressure dropping can lead to a number of things that will be quite harmful for your body. If you stop breathing for long enough, it could put your body into a coma. The lack of air entering your body will eventually begin to affect the performance of your organs. If you are not taken care of immediately once your body is put into a coma, it is very likely that you will die due to lack of oxygen and a number of other things.

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The most effective therapy for the treatment of insomnia has been shown in studies to be cognitive behavioral therapy. It is much better than medication to treat sleeplessness, and results in a significant improvement in sleep duration and quality without side effects.

To truly benefit from cognitive therapy, it is preferable if you can have a few sessions with a therapist trained in it. The first step it to replace negative thoughts ("I can't sleep without medications") with more positive ones ("If I take the time to relax, I can get to sleep without help from pills."). The underlying theory is that you "retrain" your brain to learn to sleep peacefully and deeply again.Sleeping pills online


Changing sleep habits is the second piece of cognitive therapy. For example, using the bed and bedroom only for sleep (no working or TV-watching in bed), setting and maintaining a regular sleep schedule, eliminating daytime naps, and minimizing or avoiding all together caffeine, alcohol, stimulants, and heavy or extremely spicy meals four to six hours before going to bed. Relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation often help. It involves alternately contracting individual muscles and relaxing with exhalation; the individual goes progressively through the body one-muscle group at a time.

Behavioral changes are highly effective and persist for a longer period of time than drug therapy. About 80% of patients will show improvement. Time to fall asleep is reduced from 65 minutes to 35 minutes, an increase in sleep time of 30 minutes, and improved subjective ratings of sleep quality.

In a well conducted study 46 patients with insomnia were randomized to receive CBT, zopiclone, or placebo medication each night for six weeks.208 Sleep was assessed using sleep diaries and polysomnography. CBT included sleep hygiene, sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive therapy and relaxation. CBT was better than zopiclone for sleep efficiency, with an increase from 81% to 90% compared to zopiclone which stayed at 82% before and after treatment. CBT resulted in an increase in slow wave sleep and decrease in time spent awake at night. Six months after the end of treatment CBT resulted in better sleep efficiency using polysomnography than placebo or zopiclone. Since long term use of sleeping pills is not recommended, what this study shows is that people with chronic insomnia really need to make the effort to get sleep behavioral therapy treatment, or at a minimum educate themselves through reading or online about the principles that are promoted in the types of CBT programs utilized in this study.