Can I Experience Withdrawal From My Sleeping Aids? (0:29)
Dr. Michael Breus discusses whether or not you can experience withdrawl from sleeping aids you are taking. Watch Dr. Breus's video for tips on healthy sleep.
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Many people do experience withdrawal when they take their sleep aids out of the picture and they go what we call cold turkey. In our practice we would never tell somebody just boom, stop taking your sleep aids. But we would slowly wean them off their sleep aids over the course of 2 to 3 weeks.
So we do see what we call a rebound insomnia, which is where all of a sudden you can't sleep if you just stop taking your meds, but if you slowly do it over time, working with the sleep specialist, you can then learn techniques to make you sleep better.
Michael J. Breus, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He specializes in sleep disorders and is one of only 163 psychologists in the world with his credentials and distinction.
