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Sleeping pills often carry some risk of dependency, so if you’re just having a bit of trouble sleeping for a night or two, it’s best to see if it will pass with other adjustments to your sleep routine before reaching for meds. They’re also not recommended for long-term use.
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According to the Mayo Clinic, sleep meds should be used under a doctor’s supervision at the recommended dose and only after other attempts to abate the insomnia have failed. There is a place for sleeping meds for some types of sleep disturbances, but they should be used judiciously and should not be considered a magic cure. Been there, bought the tacky keychain souvenir. Here's the cycle for me: I can’t get that elusive good night's sleep, so I’ll take sleeping meds tonight, which leads to not being able to sleep again tomorrow unless I take sleeping meds again. Trying to manage insomnia with drugs often feels a little like not being able to find your glasses because you can’t see to find your glasses. I've tried sleep meds to help, but they're not a permanent fix. In short, a relationship between a racing mind and sleepless nights is pretty clear. (Recent studies suggest that insomniacs may exhibit cognitive “stress dysregulation,” meaning their brains have issues effectively regulating stress). So there’s a good chance you’re not imagining that you sleep like crap when you’re stressed out, and vice versa, no matter which one is causing the other. It’s all a vicious cycle: Being stressed out can make it tough to get good quality sleep, and the less sleep you get, the more stressed you feel. There seems to be a connection between insomnia and elevated levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. According to research, chronic insomnia can take a toll on everything from your cognition (we’re talking difficulty concentrating, focusing, and remembering things) to your physical health (there seems to be a relationship between poor sleep and hypertension, for example), and emotional health (insomnia is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and can also exacerbate those conditions if preexisting).