The Problem with Sleeping Pills and a Better Way to Treat Insomnia
Have you ever considered taking a prescribed sleeping pill to help with your sleep problems?
Maybe you've even been prescribed one by your doctor (like I was)!
This is common as many primary care physicians often default to prescribing sleeping pills if a patient complains of trouble sleeping. They’re trying to help, but they don’t realize their prescription is at best a temporary fix for sleep and can actually make the problem worse.
Sleeping Pills: A Temporary Fix for Sleep Problems
Using sleeping pills is like a bandaid, it's a temporary fix at best — as I learned the hard way.
My doctor prescribed me Ambien and convinced me to take it. She assured me that it was safe and non-habit forming.
For a while, it seemed like a miracle drug. No matter what, I could take this tiny pill and in 30 minutes I was asleep. Sun still up? Asleep. Super Bowl party in the next room? Asleep. Stuck in the world’s least comfortable airplane seat? Asleep!
But what I didn't realize was that I was essentially masking my sleep issues as opposed to fixing them and I would come to need that Ambien more and more as time went on.
Tolerance and Dependency: The Hidden Dangers of Sleeping Pills
One day... the magic pill stopped working. I took my usual half an Ambien, got in bed, and nothing. I couldn’t fall asleep.
I waited a week or two before trying Ambien again. Again, it made no difference.
When I called my doctor to let her know, her only suggestion was for me to take MORE Ambien. When I said I wouldn't do that her second answer was for me to take Trazodone.
The idea that I had developed a tolerance—and maybe even a dependency on a sleeping pill was a wake-up call. I knew right then and there I had to find a better way.
Sleeping Pills and Insomnia Treatment: A Misunderstood Relationship
That's not to say that sleeping pills are the enemy. In some cases, they can play a helpful role in treating sleep disorders or other medical issues.
But they are rarely needed to treat insomnia and when they are used, they need to be managed thoughtfully, usually as a bridge to a long-term sleep treatment, rather than as a lifelong solution.
I like to think of them like crutches for a broken leg. Can they be helpful? Sure! But it's not the same as walking. And you'd still expect your doctor to fix your leg. The crutches themselves are not the fix. Same with sleeping pills.
The Importance of Addressing the Root Causes of Insomnia for Long-lasting Results
Instead of just addressing the symptoms of your sleep issues, you have to learn to identify and address the root causes of your sleep problems. That's how you get long-lasting results.
For me that means I went from having trouble sleeping even when conditions were perfect — I literally traveled with my own blackout blinds, sound machine, pillow and other stuff — to now I can sleep just about anywhere as long as the room isn't hot and I have a sleep mask.
And I did it without any pills at all, by directly targeting the two main causes of insomnia—high arousal and low sleep drive.
With the right approach, you can go from having trouble sleeping even under perfect conditions to being able to sleep just about anywhere. And you can do it without any dependency on sleeping pills.
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