College-age students are becoming increasingly reliant on prescription medication to fall asleep, according to a recent study by the Healthcare branch of Thompson Reuters.
According to a press release by Thompson Reuters, almost three times as many adults age 18 to 24 used prescription sleep aids in 2006, compared to 1998. In 1998, 599 out of 100,000 adults in this age group used sleep aids. By 2006, that number had jumped to 1,524 users per 100,000.
In an Ohio State study led by professor Rajesh Balkrishnan, "the researchers found that nearly half [48 percent] of patient visits resulted in a drug prescription," according to a press release.
"A person can develop a strong psychological and physical dependence on these drugs in a short time, and experience severe withdrawal-like symptoms once he stops taking the medication," Balkrishnan said.
One anonymous OSU student who suffers from insomnia has had trouble staying awake during class: "I would be so physically and mentally exhausted from not sleeping beforehand, and for a long period of time I tried to go without taking any kind of sleep medicine for insomnia," he said. "When I would go into a lecture and the lights would go off and you'd have someone just start talking, I was out. There was no way I could stay awake."
Doctors once prescribed Ambien for the student, who now takes a different medication, Sonata, in order to fall asleep quickly. "Ambien will last 7 or 8 hours … so you wake up with a hangover feeling. You're in a heavy sedation for a long period of time," he said. He described the "hangover" as a lethargic state.
When taking Sonata, "you're only making your body shut down for a short amount of time and letting it decide if it wants to continue to stay shut down or not," he said.
Side effects associated with the use of prescription sleep aids include dizziness, facial swelling, headache, prolonged drowsiness and severe allergic reactions. Behaviors such as sleep-driving and sleep-eating can also occur, according to mayoclinic.com.
The use of prescription sleep aids is not the only effective means of getting better rest, however. A 2005 study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that melatonin, a hormone available over-the-counter at many drug stores, is effective in promoting sleep. Melatonin can even make it easier for someone who has taken the hormone to fall back asleep if he or she wakes during the night.
Eric Pacella can be reached at pacella.3@osu.edu.
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