Sleeping pills are not the perfect solution for your insomnia; here’s why?

The study found that over-the-counter products are consumed by 35.4 per cent of older adults aged between 65 to 80, staying unaware of potential safety risks that they give to their body.  

Many OTC sleep aids contain diphenhydramine, which blocks activity of a brain chemical called acetylcholine (Source: Thinkstock Images)

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Often people take help of sleeping pills or medicines like Benadryl and Tylenol PM for getting a good night’s sleep. While these formulae might work, they might also be harming your body. According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, more than a third of older adults use medications or aids to help with sleep, most commonly over the counter (OTC) aids.

The study says that older adults commonly use products that may be used to promote sleep, such as benzodiazepines and over the counter medications, but the current extent of use of both prescription and non-prescription products specifically for sleep in the US is unknown. The study also found that such over the counter products are consumed by 35.4 per cent of older adults aged between 65 to 80, staying unaware of potential safety risks that they give to their body.

Buying over the counter medicines may be a short time solution from this sleeping disorder but it is certainly not something that one can rely on. According to the reports in TIME, Dr Donovan Maust, co-author of the recent study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Michigan Medicine, said “Many OTC sleep aids—such as Benadryl and Tylenol PM—contain diphenhydramine, which blocks activity of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which plays a role in muscle activation and also in brain functions like alertness, learning and memory”.

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