Study Finds Sleeping Pills Don't Work

College life and sleep have never been agreeable bedfellows by any stretch of the imagination. To make matters worse, a series of studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Oregon State University came to the conclusion that newer sleep medications recently put on the market "do not greatly improve sleep for the average person," according to The New York Times.

Medications that were tested included Lunesta, Ambien CR, Sonata, and older forms of sleep medications such as Dalmane and Restoril. "People seem to be getting a lot of relief from sleeping pills, but does getting twenty-five minutes of sleep really give you all that relief?" Dr. Wallace B. Mendelson, former director of the University of Chicago sleeping disorders team, asked The New York Times.

The conducted studies used a series of actual as well as placebo medications to test patients who admitted to "not having solid sleep on a consistent enough basis" or who complained of constantly waking up during the night. Older prescriptions such as Restoril were said to have quicker effects when helping subjects to fall asleep and offering twenty extra minutes of sleep. Newer prescriptions such as Ambien CR, which sell for on average four dollars a pill, are reported as having a smaller impact on sleep but allowing for more alertness the morning after.

Other forms of popular, and cheaper, sedation medications include Tylenol PM and Advil PM. These drugs are used by many to induce sleep due to their antihistamine medicinal qualities. But many doctors in the field of sleep warn against the usage of such products, saying there is "little evidence that they improve sleep" as well as an increased chance of liver failure due to the acetaminophen additive found in these non-prescription meds.

Others warn of a lingering sedation effect that these "PM" medications have on people including slower reflexes, racing heartbeat and minor constipation problems the following morning.

Dr. Manisha Witmans, a sleep medicine specialist at the University of Alberta's Evidence-Based Practice Center told The New York Times "The problem is there is no ideal hypnotic. The magic pill for sleep has not been invented yet."

So what do college students think of these findings? Anna Pion '09 told The Cowl, "I haven't ever used sleeping pills. Just make sure you have enough time to sleep." This being said, let's hope the pharmaceutical engineers are working on a pill that prevents college procrastination syndrome.