Sleep apnea is a serious problem with several solutions. Now the challenge would be to find that single solution that is effective for you. You can change your lifestyle, change your diet or change your sleeping habits. If you exerted all your effort to attain a good night sleep but to no avail, you can head on to the drugstore and get yourself some over-the-counter sleeping pills.
Those sleeping pills that you can avail of without a prescription are usually sedating antihistamines. There are also approved sleeping pills that your physician can prescribe after a consultation. These would include temazepam, benzodiazepine, zolpidem and zaleplo.
Sleep aid pills are most effective when used only for an occasional sleepless night. However, the more often you take them, the less effective they become since the body adapts and develops a certain immunity to a certain dosage of the said drug. In the early days, herbal potions and opiate laudanum were used to induce sleep until the introduction of barbiturates in the early 1900s. Benzodiazepines entered the scene in the 1960s and was succeeded by a safer class of anti-insomnia drugs known as nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics in the 1990s.
There is still a controversy in using sleeping pills to stimulate sleep. Sleeping pills are not for everyone and it has different effects to different people. The next morning after taking in some pills, one may feel alive and enthusiastic while some people would feel dazed and unsteady. There are some instances when users take in the pill for several weeks and they would somehow create dependency on the pill and the pill would start to lose its effectiveness. This is actually dangerous and can result to rebound insomnia. When this happens, after patients stopped taking in the sleeping pills there sleep apnea would come back and it would usually take additional medication to properly treat their sleeping condition.
It is important to note that sleeping pills are not long-term solution to your sleeping disorder. It would just allow you to sleep for a certain duration. It is a short-term resolution and wouldn’t treat sleep apnea itself.
There are various side effects of sleeping pills, both good and bad. Sleeping pills may promise a miracle cure for insomnia, the inherent risks of taking sleeping pills to combat insomnia are myriad. Regardless of whether you opt for short-term sleeping pills or a longer course, barbiturates, benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines alike all carry similar risks - namely the potential for over-use or, in the worst cases, the possibility of addiction. It is important to consult your doctor on which sleeping pill to use and in what dosage. If you have an ailment or any kind of disease, be sure to point that one out to your doctor as well. Oftentimes, insomnia is related to psychological issues. It is advised to let go of any depression, stress and anxiety before sleeping. Always exercise proper emotional training when in medication for sleeping pills to be efficient and effective.
