Abuse of over-the counter and/or prescription sleep aids and insomnia
Both over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids are well known options for handling insomnia. However, how and when they are taken is a fairly complex process and depends on the specific conditions of an insomnia sufferer, e.g., age, severity, cause, etc.. When considering taking sleep aids it is important to know that they will never be a cure for insomnia and will at best provide short term relief, at worst create a combination of daytime drowsiness, drug dependence, withdrawal symptoms and rebound insomnia.
Sleep aid drugs can be divided into 4 main categories:
- Diphenhydramine
- Diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, was originally developed to treat allergies, but because of its sedative effects, is also used as a sleep aid
- It is an over the counter drug that includes:
- Excedrin PM
- Nytol
- Tylenol PM
- Usage
- It should be used to treat mild or infrequent insomnia
- Tolerance develops after two weeks
- Side effects
- Morning drowsiness
- Confusion or delirium
- Difficulty urinating
- Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- Selective
- Non-selective
- Sleep-wake cycle modifiers
- Tricyclic antidepressants
Over-the-counter sleep aids include:
- melatonin
- valerian
- products with antihistamines
- Ibuprofen
- Tylenol PM
Prescription sleep aids belong to a class of drug called a hypnotic that is generally divided between:
- benzodiazepines
- non-benzodiazepines