People who take insomnia drugs have a 55% higher risk of dying than those who don’t. On average, the life expectancy of those who take sleeping pills (for example sedatives) is more than 5 years shorter than those who do not use these drugs. This was revealed by a study involving 484,916 adults whose results are published in the journal Sleep Health.
Epidemiological studies show that approximately one third of adults complain of an inability to sleep and that 10%-15% of the general population have chronic insomnia. Sleeping pills are used to relieve insomnia and improve sleep quality, but this study highlights a potential negative effect.
Experts from Taiwan University examined the mortality and life expectancy of 484,916 individuals with different sleep durations, some of whom used sleeping pills. Participants underwent routine medical visits and exams to evaluate for any health conditions, and were asked to report information about sleep (length, quality, and use of sleeping pills such as sedatives and hypnotics). The experts then divided the sample into groups based on the duration of daily sleep, including extremely short sleep (<4 ore), breve (4-6 ore), medio (6-8 ore) e lungo (>8 hours). The researchers used the data to estimate the life expectancy of sleeping pill users and non-users based on sleep duration. The results revealed that those who do not use sleeping pills and sleep between six and eight hours a day have the lowest risk of death compared to the whole sample. Surprisingly, users of sleeping pills, given the same optimal amount of sleep, have a 55% higher risk of death than non-users of these drugs. With the use of sleeping pills, life expectancy is also shorter; on average, the life expectancy of men using these drugs is 5.3 years shorter and that of women is 5.7 years shorter.
“Our results are nothing short of staggering,” said study lead author Yu Sun. “Many people rely on sleeping pills for sleep, so it comes as a shock to find that taking them can considerably increase the risk of death. We suggest avoiding using sleeping pills as a first line of insomnia treatment and to try other methods first,” he concludes.
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