Many people who have trouble sleeping turn to sleeping pills to help them relax and float off to dreamland. But developing a dependency on these drugs can cause serious problems. Read on to learn about the dangers of sleeping pill addiction.
There are at least 50 million Americans suffering from a sleep disorder right now. As a result, about 4 percent of all American adults use some kind of prescription drug to fall asleep at night on a regular basis.
While many adults are able to take sleep aids responsibly and use them only when they need them, there are others who aren’t able to do those things. Some people are even getting addicted to using prescription sleep aids, and it’s leading to a sleeping pill addiction that’s only going to get worse as time goes on.
While sleeping pills can come in handy for those who really just can’t fall asleep and need a good night’s rest, there are also many people who are addicted to sleeping pills and can’t function without them.
Take a look at some of the dangers that come along with a sleeping pill addiction.
Sleeping Pill Addiction Can Lead to Withdrawal Symptoms
When you start taking sleeping pills regularly, your body will start to expect them. And when you don’t take them, your body will go through different withdrawal symptoms just like you would experience when you stop using other drugs.
Some of these withdrawal symptoms include:
- Seizures
- Nausea
- Increased heart rate
- Muscle spasms
- Hand tremors
You will likely wreak havoc on your body if you use sleeping pills on a nightly basis and then suddenly stop taking them.
It’s why you should always consult with a doctor or stay at a rehab facility when trying to kick a sleeping pill addiction. You might not be able to deal with the withdrawal symptoms on your own.
It Can Cut Down on the Effectiveness of Sleep Aids
If you take sleeping pills often enough, they can start to lose their effectiveness. You might notice that a normal dose just doesn’t put you to sleep like it used to.
There are some people who will then start taking more sleeping pills to get the intended result. This will make their bodies even more reliant on sleeping pills and it will fuel their sleeping pill addiction further. It will also put them at an increased risk of an overdose.
Additionally, it will prevent people from getting the good night’s sleep they desire in many cases. Those who don’t feel comfortable taking larger doses of sleeping medicine will often be forced to deal with the fact that they just aren’t going to get much sleep.
This can be a very frustrating process for people to go through. Between not sleeping enough and not seeing results from sleeping pills, people can really fall into a funk that can be hard to get out of without professional help.
It Can Lead to Depression
You will have to worry about more than just not sleeping and dealing with withdrawal symptoms with a sleeping pill addiction.
You will also have to worry about depression becoming a bigger part of your life when you’re going through sleep problems.
One of the biggest sleeping pill dangers is the depression that often accompanies regular sleep aid use. Whether you already deal with depression now or not, depression could very well affect your mood when you’re addicted to sleeping pills.
In fact, the depression could even make things worse for you by forcing you to turn to your sleeping pills to reduce the feelings of anxiety you have. You will start to get more and more addicted to sleeping pills once your emotions get tangled up in taking them.
The last thing you want to do is get caught up in a vicious cycle that starts when you take sleeping pills more often than you should.
It Can Cause You to Have More Accidents
Sleeping pills can impair your coordination and make it difficult for you to function normally. They can leave you feeling drowsy and “out of it” for an extended period of time.
This doesn’t usually pose much of a problem for those who use sleep aids responsibly. They take them, go to sleep, and then feel better in the morning.
But if you abuse sleeping pills, you are going to be more prone to dealing with an impaired sense of coordination during the day in addition to at night. This can cause you to fall or get into accidents and get hurt.
It can also lead to you operating a vehicle or other heavy machinery when you really shouldn’t. You could put yourself or others in real danger by using these things while under the influence of a sleeping pill.
It Can Even Lead to Legal Trouble
Most people with health insurance will have their sleeping pills covered under their specific plan. They won’t have to worry about going out and buying more as long as they take their sleep aids as prescribed.
However, those who become addicted to sleeping pills are often forced to face a different challenge. Once their sleeping pill supply runs out, they have to fuel their addiction by going and finding sleeping pills they can take.
In some cases, that might mean stealing sleeping pills from people they know. In others, it might mean stealing money or items in order to be able to pay the price for sleeping pills.
Regardless, those who are working their way through sleeping pill addiction will often go to great lengths to get their hands on sleep aids. Some will even end up in jail because they have committed crimes to get access to the sleeping pills their bodies need.
Get Help for Sleeping Pill Addiction Now
Are you dealing with a sleeping pill addiction at the moment, or do you know someone who is?
Just like any drug addiction, it can be incredibly difficult for a person to stop using sleeping pills altogether without assistance from an addiction counselor. It can also be tough to get a handle on a sleeping pill addiction when you are forced to face the withdrawal symptoms that come along with trying to quit.
Check out our blog for additional information on various addictions and the steps you can take to beat them once and for all.