Video / Sharecare Experts / Nina Singh Radcliff, MD / What Happens If I Take a Sleeping Aid for Too Long?

What Happens If I Take a Sleeping Aid for Too Long?

What Happens If I Take a Sleeping Aid for Too Long? (0:49)

Sleep aids are not intended for long-term use; when you take them for too long, you can become dependent or develop a tolerance that makes you take more. Watch as Nina Singh Radcliff, MD, explains why sleep aids should only be taken short-term.

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There was a study that came out that was pretty scary. It shows that people who take as few as 18 pills a year and that's about two per month have an increased risk of dying prematurely. We're not sure why or if there's some other coincidental factor that predisposes people to dying earlier but it is something to pay attention to.

It means that these sleeping medications were for a short period of time, not to be taken every day or chronically. If you take sleeping medications for too long, you may become dependent upon them or they stop working. So you have to be careful. You need to deal with the underlying problem, why are you not sleeping.

Sleeping medications were meant to be taken for a short period of time, not everyday. We understand that people are desperate to get to sleep, but this is not the answer, you should talk to your physician and see if he can solve the problem.