Are sleeping pills ever dangerous?

here are some medical conditions that make sleeping pills dangerous to take. (This does not necessarily apply to antihistamines). These are:• obstructive sleep apnoea (periods when breathing stops briefly during sleep; often associated with heavy snoring)

• breathing or lung problems

• heart disease

• severe liver or kidney disease

• myasthenia gravis (a serious illness affecting muscle control)

• psychotic states (when people are out of touch with reality and may have perceptions that are not shared by others, such as hearing voices).

In addition (as with all drugs) doctors are warned that they should always be used with caution for people who have liver or kidney disease. It may be possible to take a reduced dose if the condition is not too severe.

You should not use sleeping pills if you are pregnant, unless (rarely) the doctor decides that the possible benefits to you outweigh the possible risks to your child. There is some evidence that taking benzodiazepines during pregnancy may be linked to problems in the newborn baby, including breathing difficulties, poor muscle tone, cleft palate, low birth weight and signs of addiction.

Sleeping pills should not be used while breastfeeding, either, because they may get into the breast milk.

There are particular concerns about elderly people taking sleeping pills, since the drugs tend to remain in their system longer. This can lead to feeling tired and sedated during the day and may cause confusion and affect the memory. (For more information, see Mind’s website for their factsheet on Older people and mental health.)

All sedative drugs carry a warning about driving and operating machinery, and it’s very important to take this seriously. A recent study has shown that users of benzodiazepines and zopiclone were more likely to have a road traffic accident. Research into a number of different studies of benzodiazepines suggests that the short increase in sleep time they offered was not worth the increased drowsiness and dizziness that followed, and the increased risk of road accidents and falls.