Links between Sleeping disorders & Addiction
Hundreds of thousands of people who take sleeping pills just twice a month are nearly four times more likely to die prematurely, according to new research recorded in the BMJ. The study compared people taking sleeping tablets with those who were not using the drugs but had a similar lifestyle and health conditions.
People taking higher doses of tamazepam pills, which were dispensed 2.8m times in England in 2010, were six times more likely to die in the next two-and-a-half years.
For the drug zolpidem, which was prescribed 733,000 times in England in 2010, the risk of death was 5.7 times higher for those taking them most frequently.
The drug zopiclone, which was prescribed 5.3million times in England in 2010, was included in the full analysis but not calculated separately.
Lead author Dr Daniel Kripke, of the Scripps Clinic, wrote in the British Medical Journal Open: "The meagre benefits of hypnotics [sleeping pills], as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks.
Research to prove counselling can help Insomnia sufferers
According to background information in the article, insomnia affects anywhere from 15 to 35 percent of older adults. For the research, Daniel J. Buysse, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr Buysee found in his analysis of that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was a supportive treatment to help Insomnia sufferers calm their mind and improve sleeping patterns.
Sourced from Daily telegraph
Related articles: Addiction to Pain killers & alcohol
