The Disadvantages of Artificial Sleep:

The Dangers of Artificial sleep |The Disadvantages of Artificial Sleep:

Although older people are more likely than younger people to complain about sleeping problems, studies have shown that sleeping time does not increase with age and that the total sleeping time decreases very little if at all.

Sleeplessness most often occurs in older people who go to bed early and also often sleep during the day. Thus, experts conclude that it is necessary to give up daytime sleep instead of treating the nighttime insomnia caused by it.

Dangerous pills
At the same time, excessive or erroneous prescribing of sleeping pills results in about half a million people taking "sleeping pills" daily for at least a month, putting their health at risk without any reason.

The right dosage
Another danger is the overdose. A study of sleeping pills dosages showed that the majority (almost 80%) of people 65 years of age and older take an increased dose of flurazepam (30 mg), although a dose of up to 15 mg is recommended for older people. Commenting on the specifics of the use of sleeping pills in older people, physicians note: "A particular concern is the regular and prolonged use of this group of drugs, which itself has doubtful therapeutic efficacy and increases the risk of negative effects of taking sleeping pills.

Remember:
sleeping pills should only be used in a limited number of cases, and the increasing frequency of prescriptions of these drugs to older people, especially for long periods of time, poses a serious threat to their health.

Side effects

• The most common side effects of taking sleeping pills are
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• Sleepiness during the day,
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• drug addiction,
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• development of amnesia,
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• increased risk of car accidents,
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• impairments in movement coordination and learning ability,
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• confusing speech
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• and even a fatal outcome.

This is especially likely to be the case when these drugs are taken together with alcohol or other drugs that suppress the CNS.

Consequences of taking these drugs
These consequences, as the studies show, do not depend on age. However, older people cannot eliminate such drugs as quickly as young people. Older people are also more sensitive to the side effects of medications. However, despite the fact that this is obvious, sleeping pills are prescribed more often in old age than in middle-aged and young people. Moreover, they usually receive a standard rather than a reduced dose, which greatly increases the risk of side effects. And they take these drugs for much longer periods of time. Consequently, it is difficult to be surprised that older people are more at risk of negative effects and the severity of such effects is greater.

Old age is not the reason
One of the most serious obstacles to identifying and overcoming such problems is that they are associated mainly with the process of aging, rather than taking medicines. Deterioration of thinking processes, amnesia or loss of coordination in young people when taking the drug is perceived as an alarm signal.

If the same symptoms occur in older people, especially if they develop quite slowly, then the doctor's reaction is often to say, "Well, he or she is old, so what did you expect? And recommends to continue the course of previously prescribed drug therapy, which gradually affects the weakened health of the elderly, aggravating all the side effects of taking the sleeping pills themselves.

Breathing and lungs
The second most important and serious problem with benzodiazepines is respiratory depression. Elderly people often have sleep apnea attacks when their breathing stops temporarily after falling asleep. And if these people take sleeping pills, the sleep delay becomes less controlled and longer. And the likelihood of death increases several times in the long run.

Another risk associated with the respiratory system is lung disease. People with these diseases should not use benzodiazepines. These drugs depress the respiratory center, which can become life-threatening in lung diseases. Avoiding sleeping pills and tranquilizers is particularly recommended for asthmatics.