According to a survey by B. Sivertsen and associates (2009) published in the "Journal of Psychosomatic Research," insomnia affects about 13 percent of the population. A survey by M. Lee and colleagues (2009) presented in the "Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging" showed that increases in sleep disturbance are associated with decreases in life quality. Yet both subjective and objective measures of sleep efficiency can be enhanced by many safe and effective options. These common sleep medications are grouped into four types.
Benzodiazepine Drugs
According to a survey by C. M. Cunningham and co-workers (2010) published in "Health Policy," almost 1 in 10 people use benzodiazepines. These psychoactive drugs were invented in the 1950s, and they have become popular hypnotics due to their relative safety and effectiveness. For example, a 2000 study by C. L. Drake and colleagues published in "Human Psychopharmacology" indicated that triazolam (Halcion) increased total sleep time and decreased latency to persistent sleep in patients with chronic insomnia. Benzodiazepines are known to have prominent side effects like amnesia and "hangover," and such effects were observed in this experiment.
Nonbenzodiazepine Drugs
Nonbenzodiazepine drugs like zolpidem (Ambien) are also used to treat insomnia. These medications were invented in the 1990s to address the side effects commonly associated with benzodiazepines. The nonbenzodiazepines, however, retain the effectiveness of benzodiazepines. For example, a 2008 study by T. Roth and associates presented in the journal "Sleep" showed zolpidem to be effective at decreasing sleep latency and increased sleep time in insomniacs. No hangover effects were observed in this experiment, and the drug was well tolerated.
Hormonal Treatments
According to a review by R. Sahelian in the book "Melatonin: Nature's Sleeping Pill," hormonal treatments with substances like melatonin increased dramatically in the 1990s. Melatonin was discovered in the 1950s and has gradually become well known for its effects on body rhythms and sleep quality. The recent development of hormonal agonists such as ramelteon (Rozerem) in the 2000s has contributed to the vast data indicating positive effects of melatonin in insomnia. A large-scale 2009 study by S. Wang-Weigand and colleagues published in "Current Medical Research and Opinion" showed that ramelteon reduced latency to persistent sleep in more than 500 patients with chronic insomnia. These effects were achieved on the same night as administration and few side effects were noted.
Hormonal Supplements
According to a 2009 survey by M. A. Levine and associates published in the "American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy," herbal supplements are increasingly being used as people become more aware of alternative and complementary medicine. Herbs have some advantages over drugs in that they are "natural" and can be readily obtained. The hypnotic qualities of herbal treatments are largely unknown, but this lack of data is changing. For example, a 2008 study by W. Dimpfel and A. Suter offered in the "European Journal of Medical Research" showed that the combination of valerian and hops improved rest in poor sleepers. Both time spent asleep and time in deep sleep were increased by the tonic, and no side effects were observed. Other herbs such as wolfberry, kava and chamomile provide similar hope for the treatment of insomnia.
References
- "Journal of Psychosomatic Research"; Epidemiology of insomnia...; B. Sivertsen et al.; August 2009
- "Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging"; Sleep disturbance in relation to...; M. Lee et al.; June 2009
- "Health Policy"; Patterns in the use of benzodiazepines...; C. M. Cunningham et al.; April 20, 2010
- "Human Psychopharmacology"; Dose-response effects of zaleplon as compared with triazolam...; C. L. Drake et al.; December 2000
- "Sleep"; Low-dose sublingual zolpidem tartrate is associated with dose-related improvement in sleep onset...; T. Roth et al.; September 1, 2008
