Sleeping pills, nightly medication for many millions of people, have been linked to the big sleep–death. In a study published in BMJ Open, researchers looked at a type of sleep aid called hypnotics (Ambien, Restoril, Lunesta, Sonata, Halcion, Dalmane, and barbiturates) and found that people who had prescriptions for the drugs had a threefold increase the likelihood of death, even if they took fewer than 18 pills a year. Web MD reports that the researchers found that over an average of 2.5 years, the death rate for those who did not use sleeping pills was 1.2 percent, while it was 6.1 percent for people with sleeping pill prescriptions. The researchers, who claim that 6 to 10 percent of U.S. adults took a sleeping pill in 2010, believe that sleeping pills are linked to 320,000 to 507,000 U.S. deaths each year. Read an abstract of the study here.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Sunday, June 1, 2025
Correlation is not causation.
Couldn’t it be possible that folks who take sleeping pills have EXISTING health issues and therefore take the pills ?
Sure there might be SOME deleterious effects from taking sleeping pills, but if they were not taking those pills perhaps those same people would be taking NSAIDS, booze or Vicodin … which ALSO are harmful ?