Everything about Sleeping Pills

Everything about Sleeping Pills and Sedative-Hypnotic Drugs

Due to the busy lifestyle that people now lead in developed countries, sleep disorders are quite common. This is why many people are forced to take hypnotic or sleeping pills to fall asleep.

Also known as hypnotic drugs, sleeping pills are now wildly popular. However, you need to be incredibly careful and not to abuse such remedies, because they can negatively affect your well-being.

What is insomnia?

The most common disease in developed countries is sleep disturbance, which is characterized by the inability of a patient to fall asleep or sleep soundly all night to get enough rest to regain energy and wake up full of energy.

Numerous studies on sleep disorders show that the cause of it should be sought in other internal diseases instead of perceiving insomnia as an independent disease. It is very important to remember this because first of all, you need to look for ways to combat the disease that provokes insomnia.

It should be noted that the types of insomnia can be classified according to their duration and nature:

  • Transient insomnia. This insomnia lasts less than 7 days, and it usually bothers some women in the premenstrual period.
  • Sharp insomnia. This type of insomnia bothers a person for a period of one to three weeks.
  • Chronic insomnia. Insomnia can be called chronic if a person suffers from this sleep disorder for more than three weeks.

According to the nature of the disorder, insomnia can be classified as follows:

  • Problems with falling asleep. This disorder indicates that it is difficult for a person to fall asleep.
  • Problems with maintaining sleep. It is difficult for the patient to sleep soundly throughout the night.
  • Premature waking up in the morning.
  • General insomnia.

Hypnotic drugs or sleeping pills to improve sleep quality

These drugs are considered psychoactive psychotropic substances that facilitate the process of falling asleep, causing a person to feel drowsy.

Note that there are six basic linear treatments for insomnia

Your doctor should start with the first method and move on to the next if the first method did not give the desired results.

1. Natural remedies

People often use natural remedies to combat insomnia. The most popular are valerian, linden, passionflower, and opioids. At the same time, some patients choose other therapies, including homeopathy and natural remedies.

2. Non-Benzodiazepine hypnotics pills

These types of sleeping pills are selective agonists of GABA receptors. It should be noted that GABA receptors are mostly inhibitory neurotransmitters of the central nervous system.

These pills have shown quite positive results among consumers due to their high efficiency. Also, most people tolerate the above pills quite well.

That is why these pills are prescribed in the first place, especially if the patient needs to overcome sharp insomnia. At the same time, it should be noted that these pills are not suitable for the treatment of chronic insomnia.

3. Benzodiazepine sleeping pills

The second most popular pill for insomnia is benzodiazepines. Unlike previous drugs, these drugs do not belong to the complex of selective GABA receptors.

It should be noted that benzodiazepines have succeeded in replacing other pills (including barbiturates), which were previously most often used as hypnotics.

Remember that despite their high efficiency, they have the ability to change the natural structure of sleep, affect the phase of fast sleep and lead to negative side effects, they are highly addictive.

That is why before prescribing it is necessary to inform the patient about the possible negative consequences and monitor the person’s condition while taking these sleeping pills.

4. Antidepressants that help you fall asleep quickly

As with benzodiazepines, these drugs also interrupt the fast sleep phase. However, it should be noted that they have a slightly different mechanism of action. Such remedies have a calming effect on the body due to their anticholinergic properties. Also, they have the ability to improve the aminergic activity of neurotransmitters.

It should be noted that if a patient suffers from chronic insomnia, benzodiazepines are often insufficient. That is why patients should use these drugs only as adjunctive therapy.

5. Antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of insomnia

These medications are more commonly prescribed to the elderly who suffer from delirium, mania, insomnia, and mental disorders.

6. Melatonin or Gabapentin

These medications are usually used to treat sleep disorders caused by Jet Lag, also called desynchronosis and flight fatigue is a temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms as a result of air travel across multiple time zones.

It is considered a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, which is a disruption of the internal circadian clock.

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