One study found that prescribed pharmaceutical sleeping pills can lead to an increased death threat of up to 4 times AND an increased cancer risk.
The recommended daily average night’s sleep is just over 8 hours, but only 35% of Americans are getting their rest. With these kind of statistics, it’s no wonder we turn to sleeping pills as a way to try to reverse insomnia; however, one study published by the British Medical Journal has shown that pharmaceutical sleeping pills prescribed by your doctor can lead to an increased death threat of up to 4 times. It also found that those prescribed sleeping pills were more likely to develop cancer.
Some argue that those who take sleeping pills and suffer from insomnia already have an underlying health condition, aside from stress, which is causing them to have sleepless nights. A family practice physician at Cleveland Family Medicine, Dr. Scott Nelson said, “I think the underlying conditions which may require sedative-hypnotics are the culprits, not the medicines themselves,” however it is also a known fact that sedation causes sleep apnea.
The following drugs were found to have an especially pronounced affect on mortality in Hammond’s assessment:
Barbiturates (esp. phenobarbital)
Antihistamines, mainly diphenhydramine