Sleep deprivation has reached epic proportions and for a variety of reasons. Unhealthy diets and lifestyles along with excessive use of technology and limited sunlight exposure have made it extremely difficult for people to sleep. As a result, many sleep deprived individuals have turned to sleeping pills to improve their sleeping habits. But, that relief may come at serious costs to your health.

Staggering Sleeping Pill statistics

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• 50 to 70 million Americans are sleep deprived
• 9 million Americans take sleeping pills
• Sales of sleeping pills in America amount to nearly $3 billion USD

Although these statistics refer to the US, the trend in Australia is much the same.

Sleeping Pills: Are they worth the risk?

Losing sleep has a rather harmful, lasting effect on the body; so, it is understandable that you may try anything to get to sleep. Yet, research performed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) revealed that sleeping pills have been involved in a number of emergency department visits. Taking other medications whilst on sleeping pills appears to be the cause for those visits. Anti-anxiety drugs as well as narcotic pain relievers actually enhance the effects of sleeping pills. The danger in that fact is that those drugs also enhance the side effects of sleeping pills.

5 Common side effects of sleeping pills

1. Agitation
2. Dizziness
3. Hallucinations
4. Drowsiness while awake and/or driving
5. Sleep-walking

You can get better Sleep…naturally!

In addition to their scary side effects, sleeping pills have also been linked to increasing cancer risk and risk of death from any cause. Thus, sleeping pills are clearly not your best option for getting more sleep. There could be many reasons why you are having difficulty sleeping and you need to find out why. So instead of prescription sleeping pills, ‘Ask a Naturopath’ to outline some steps that you can immediately put into action for more quality sleep. Fortunately, these steps are all-natural and their only side effect is a good night’s rest!