Institute for Continuing Education

The Risks of Sleeping Pills

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Analyze current epidemiological evidence linking hypnotic medication use to increased mortality risk, including mechanisms of association and confounding factors that complicate causal interpretation
• Compare the risk profiles of different classes of hypnotic medications including benzodiazepines, Z-drugs (zolpidem, zaleplon, eszopiclone), orexin receptor antagonists, melatonin receptor agonists, and sedating antidepressants, with emphasis on adverse effects, dependence potential, and special population considerations
• Evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypnotic medications for chronic insomnia compared to cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) based on current clinical practice guidelines and meta-analytic evidence
• Explain the neurobiological mechanisms underlying hypnotic medication effects on sleep architecture, next-day functioning, and long-term sleep regulation
• Apply evidence-based principles of sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep restriction, and cognitive restructuring as non-pharmacological alternatives to hypnotic medications in patient education and clinical practice

Course Information

This module explains risks of sleeping pills which you may not have heard about. It also describes better alternatives.

People who take sleeping pills often hope that sleeping pills will increase their sleep enough to make them more energetic in the day, and they may hope that sleeping pills will improve their long-term health. Unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth!

Because life and death are often our primary concern, I would like to first to discuss the darkest aspect of sleeping pills. I think that taking sleeping pills is like risking suicide. Later, I will discuss how sleeping pills fail to help us in the day.