What medicine can help you sleep?

Although insomnia is not a disease, if symptoms of insomnia appear, it will cause many problems in our body. Generally speaking, people will choose diet therapy to relieve insomnia. However, this method is slow to take effect and requires long-term persistence. So many friends will choose to use drugs to assist sleep. So, what NASH medicines are available on the market now that can help us sleep? Let’s find out!

1. What medicine can help you sleep?

1.1 Short-acting drugs

It is mainly used for people who have difficulty falling asleep or occasional, temporary insomnia, such as midazolam (midazolam), which has a short duration of action and is contraindicated for pregnant women, people with myasthenia gravis, schizophrenia and severe depression.

1.2. Intermediate-acting drugs

It is suitable for people who have shallow sleep and many dreams, such as estazolam (Suladia), with few adverse reactions. The elderly, the weak and children should follow the doctor's advice. Alprazolam (Alprazolam) has an anti-anxiety effect, and its adverse reactions include dizziness, constipation, etc.

1.3. Long-acting drugs

Suitable for those who have shallow sleep and wake up early, diazepam (Valium) has a wide range of treatment, can fight anxiety and phobia, and is also used for tension headaches. Its adverse reactions are similar to those of alprazolam, and it is contraindicated for patients with glaucoma and myasthenia gravis. Flurazepam (Fluorazepam) is completely absorbed orally and has a fast effect. It is more effective for those who have difficulty falling asleep. It has gastrointestinal reactions and can cause ataxia in the elderly.

2. How to choose sleeping pills correctly

Non-benzodiazepines should be chosen as first-line drugs for the treatment of insomnia. Acute insomnia should be treated with medication early; subacute insomnia should be treated with medication early combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy; chronic insomnia is recommended to consult a clinician. If the purpose is to quickly relieve symptoms, temporary or intermittent medication is sufficient.

For patients who require long-term drug treatment, intermittent medication is recommended from a safety perspective. There is currently no mature intermittent treatment model, but "medication on demand" is still possible. The principle of "medication on demand" is to consider the use of short-half-life sedatives and hypnotic drugs based on the patient's daytime work situation and nighttime sleep needs.

The specific method is: when it is expected that it will be difficult to fall asleep, take it 15 minutes before going to bed; according to the needs of night sleep time, take it when you still cannot fall asleep 30 minutes after going to bed, or when you wake up 5 hours earlier than the usual time and cannot fall asleep again; according to the needs of daytime activities, that is, when there is no important work or things to do during the next day.

3. What are the side effects of taking sleeping pills?

3.1. Hangover

Almost all hypnotic drugs have a "hangover" phenomenon. Many insomnia patients can fall asleep peacefully after taking the drug, but after waking up they feel groggy, dizzy, and unable to concentrate. Over time, it will seriously affect normal work, life and interpersonal relationships.

3.2. Nightmares

Hypnotic drugs can also cause a more troublesome phenomenon, which is that you may have nightmares after taking them, with an incidence rate of about 10%. This makes patients sleep more uneasily and defeats the purpose of taking the medicine.

3.3 Withdrawal reaction

When the medication is stopped, a series of symptoms may occur, such as headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, tremors, delirium, and even convulsions.

3.4 Alzheimer's disease

Long-term use of hypnotic drugs may lead to gradual memory loss and may develop into Alzheimer's disease.

What should I pay attention to when taking sleeping pills

1. Do not take this type of medicine with other sedatives, analgesics, drugs, antibiotics, or alcohol. It has an additive effect on the efficacy of the drug and causes drug overdose. Do not increase the dosage arbitrarily and do not place sleeping pills at the bedside to avoid overdose when you are half asleep. If you are not aware of your insomnia, do not go to the pharmacy to buy sleeping pills on your own.

It must be taken before bedtime. Do not drive or operate machinery within eight hours of taking the medicine. Everyone's insomnia condition is different, so you should not give sleeping pills to others.

As long as you follow the doctor's prescription, take it when you should, and don't take too much, it is usually not dangerous. But the most worrying thing is that many people have developed dependence and drug resistance due to long-term use. Either the original dosage is no longer effective and they take heavier dosages, or once they stop taking the drug, they will have trouble sleeping, which will be more difficult to solve.

If you find it difficult to wake up in the morning after taking sleeping pills or the sleeping pills are no longer effective, you must discuss with your doctor and may need to change the medication. If you take it frequently, you may become dependent on it. If you stop taking it, your sleep pattern will change and it may take several weeks for your body to slowly adjust.

Who should not take sleeping pills?

1. Pregnant women should avoid taking sleeping pills

Some sleeping pills may cause fetal malformations, and may also cause newborns to have difficulty breastfeeding, jaundice, and drowsiness.

2. Breastfeeding women

If you take sleeping pills during breastfeeding, the ingredients in the sleeping pills may be transferred into breast milk and cause adverse effects on the newborn.

3. The elderly and infirm

If the drug residue is large, it will cause side effects such as dizziness and unsteady walking, which may be dangerous to the elderly and the weaker people.

4. People with heart, liver and kidney disorders

Sleeping pills are mainly converted in the liver and excreted by the kidneys. Patients with liver and kidney diseases should not take sleeping pills.

5. People with sleep breathing disorders

Sleeping pills can deepen central nervous system inhibition, so patients with obstructive respiratory disease or sleep apnea should not take sleeping pills.

6. Patients with acute angle-closure glaucoma and myasthenia gravis

When these patients take sleeping pills, their symptoms worsen dramatically.

7. It is not advisable to take sleeping pills after drinking

Alcohol and sleeping pills have the same effect of suppressing the central nervous system. Do not use them at the same time to avoid excessive suppression of the central nervous system and causing harm.