Older Adults Worry About Safety of Prescription Sleep Drugs
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Worries over the safety of prescription sleep drugs may be leading many older adults to self-medicate with such homespun remedies as alcohol or soothing music, according to results of a survey released today.
In all, one in four Americans reported having a sleep problem in the national telephone survey that included 1,003 adults ages 50 or older. The results were statistically adjusted to be nationally representative.
When asked to rate on a five-point scale the safety of prescription sleep medications, 36% said they were unsafe (rating them a 1 or 2), 31% gave a middle rating of 3, and 10% said they were not sure, according to the survey.
While 23% of those surveyed believed prescription sleep aids to be safe, rating them a 4 or 5, the average rating on the five-point scale was 2.7, showed the survey, which was conducted by the Gallup Organization for The International Longevity Center.
Of those who reported having a sleep problem, 72% said they consulted with a healthcare provider. Only 47% of these, however, reported being treated for their problem.
Additional highlights of the survey:
- 32% of respondents reported getting a good nighti’s sleep all seven days of the week.
- 29% said they are able to get a good nighti’s sleep five or six days a week, while 26% reported getting a good nighti’s sleep from two to four nights.
- 8% said they never get a good night’s sleep.
- 20% reported getting less than six hours sleep each night.
- 26% said they get between six but less thanand seven hours sleep, while 31% reported getting seven but less thanto eight hours sleep each night.
Major concerns about the safety of prescription sleep drugs included:
- Not knowing the long-term effects (73%).
- The possibility of becoming addicted to sleep medications (68%).
- Feeling groggy and not well rested in the morning (67%).
- Memory problems that might be caused by sleep aids (56%).
Chief alternatives to prescription sleep medications included:
- Audio tapes with soothing music (12%).
- Over-the-counter sleep agents (11%).
- Over-the-counter antihistamines or cold medicines (8%).
- Herbal remedies (6%).
- Prescription medicines not prescribed for sleep problems (6%).
- Alcohol (5%).
Public concern about sleeping pills can be traced back to the barbiturates used in the 1960s, which were “remarkably unsafe” and addictive, said Edward Stepanski, Ph.D., director of a sleep disorders research center at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and board member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
More recently, he added, a splash of negative reports about amnesia and addiction associated with Halcion (triazolam), one of the newer generation of benzodiazepines, in the early 1980s has become part of the public mindset about sleeping pills.
The newest generation of non-benzodiazepines are shorter-acting and have not been associated with the residual sedation that concerns many patients, Dr. Stepanski said. In addition, this latest generation of sleep aids has not been shown to be physically addictive, although one always worries about psychological addiction.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be an effective alternative to a pharmacological approach to sleep problems, Dr. Stepanksi said, especially for patients who do not want to take sleeping pills.
Primary source: International Longevity Center
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