Sleeping pills include a wide range of prescription and nonprescription medications. Some sleep aids are not habit forming, while others can lead to pill dependence or addiction. How can you tell if you might be addicted to sleeping pills? Several signs can point to a pattern that needs attention and compassionate help.
What are sleeping pills?
The term “sleeping pills” refers to any pills taken to help you sleep. You might see them called sleep aids, sedatives, hypnotics, or sleep medicine. Some medications are designed specifically for insomnia. Others have a different primary purpose, but are prescribed off label to help you fall asleep or stay asleep.
Common prescription sleeping pills
Two major categories of prescription sleeping pills are benzodiazepines and Z-drugs. Benzodiazepines used as sleep medicine include temazepam, estazolam, triazolam, and flurazepam. Z-drugs include zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon. These prescription sleep medications affect brain chemistry to help you fall asleep, and some help you stay asleep.
Off-label sleep medication
Some prescription drugs, such as certain antidepressants or antihistamines, may be prescribed when short-term sleep problems are severe. Not everyone benefits from these medications, and risks can increase at a higher dose or for an extended period.
Over-the-counter sleep aids
Many over-the-counter (OTC) medications contain sedating antihistamines. While these sleep aids are available without a prescription, people can still develop tolerance and overuse them. OTC sleep aids can also interact with other medications, so you should always speak with a healthcare provider before adding them to a medication regimen.
How do sleeping pills work and what are the risks?
Benzodiazepines and many Z-drugs make the brain’s main calming chemical, GABA, work more strongly at its receptors, which slows down activity in the nervous system. This produces calming, sedative effects that can help you fall asleep. These drugs can be helpful for short-term insomnia, but sleeping pills may also cause side effects and, for some, pill addiction or sleeping pill dependence.
- Potential benefits: Sleep medication helps you get enough sleep during a flare of stress, jet lag, or acute illness, so you can return to a healthier sleep wake cycle.
- Potential risks: Next day drowsiness, impaired coordination, mood swings, memory problems, and rare complex behaviors can occur with certain Z-drugs, and older adults face a higher risk for falls and confusion. Mixing sleeping sedatives with alcohol, opioids, or other drugs that slow breathing increases overdose risk.
Most sleeping pills are intended for short courses. When the underlying cause of insomnia is addressed with behavioral therapy and healthy routines, medication needs often decrease.
If you are seeking treatment for sleeping pill addiction in Colorado, Women’s Recovery can help.
What is sleeping pill abuse?
Sleeping pill abuse means using a sleep medication in a way that does not match the prescription instructions. Examples include taking sleeping pills more often than directed, taking a higher dose than directed, crushing or altering pills to change how they work, using someone else’s medication, or doctor shopping to obtain more pills. Recreational use of prescription sleeping pills is a form of drug abuse and increases the chance of harm.
Dependence, addiction, and the dependency cycle
People may become physically dependent on sleep medication, then experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking or rapidly cut back. Psychological dependency can also develop, for example, if you are using pills as a coping mechanism for stress. When physical and psychological dependence are accompanied by persistent use despite harm and loss of control, clinicians may diagnose this as a sleeping pill addiction.
Common elements in this dependency cycle include:
- Tolerance (needing a higher dose or more pills to feel the same sedative effects)
- Withdrawal symptoms such as rebound insomnia, anxiety, irritability, shakiness, and muscle weakness when you stop taking
- Cravings and compulsive pill seeking that disrupt daily life
Signs you may be developing a sleeping pill problem
Only a clinician can diagnose a substance use disorder, but warning signs of sleeping pill use moving toward addiction include:
- Taking sleeping pills outside your prescription or combining with other medications to intensify effects
- Trying and failing to cut down repeatedly
- Spending a lot of time obtaining pills or recovering from their effects
- Strong cravings between doses
- Physical signs such as unsteadiness, slowed reaction time, or memory problems
- Continuing use even when sleep issues, mood, or relationships worsen
If these patterns sound familiar, talk with your healthcare provider. Early support can prevent more serious problems.
Can sleeping pills be taken long term?
Prescription sleeping pills may help in the short term. For long-term insomnia, therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, combined with good sleep hygiene, usually provide safer, more durable results. Because sleeping pills’ addictive potential varies by medication, your prescriber will consider your health conditions, age, and other drugs you take when prescribing.
How to get off sleeping pills safely
Never stop taking sleeping pills suddenly without guidance. Work with your healthcare provider to create a treatment plan that reduces risks and supports healthy sleep.
- Consult your prescriber first, especially if you have used pills for several weeks or longer.
- Ask about a gradual taper. Tapering guidance is individualized, since pill dependence and withdrawal symptoms vary by drug, dose, and duration.
- Plan for short-term rebound insomnia.
- Schedule behavioral therapy to help you learn how to better manage insomnia and other sleep issues.
- Adjust your sleeping environment (usually a dark, quiet, cool room is best) and follow sleep hygiene steps like a consistent wake time, limited evening screens, and avoiding caffeine late in the day.
For chronic sleep issues that don’t respond to regular therapy and sleep hygiene measures, more investigation may be needed to pinpoint and treat the underlying cause or causes, such as pain, anxiety, trauma, a disorder like sleep apnea, or another medical condition.
Help for sleeping pill dependence at Women’s Recovery in Colorado
If you are worried about sleeping pill addiction or dependence, specialized care can help you stabilize sleep and build new skills. Women’s Recovery in Denver provides programming tailored for women, and we have experience working with those who have dependencies on benzos, temazepam, lorazepam, and other sleep and anxiety drugs. Contact us to discuss your situation confidentially, so we can help you find the best care. We will discuss safe next steps, including medical supervision if needed, and support to build healthy, sustainable sleep.
