Are sleeping pills addictive? Sleep is vital for human beings. It enables us to rest and recharge our energy for a fresh round of activities. For children, it helps with their growth. Yet there is a monster that disrupts this beautiful activity: insomnia. It is a condition that prevents us from enjoying a regular sleeping pattern. One solution to address insomnia is taking sleeping pills. About 4% of adults rely on sleeping pills or some form of sleep medication or drug. These pills are a temporary fix that can help us with insomnia. If we use them sparingly, we can reap a lot of its benefits. But if we continuously rely on them, they can be addictive to a great extent. Oceanfront Recovery has addiction treatment programs to help you find that balance.

Types of Sleeping Pills

Several sleeping pills exist in the market. Some common ones are below.

“Z” Drugs: These sleeping pills induce sleep by slowing down the brain and reducing their arousal. They do this by binding to the GABA receptors on the brain. Common examples are Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta.
OTC Sleep Aids: You can get these sleeping pills over the counter (OTC). You don’t need a doctor’s prescription to get them. Such pills induce sleep by making a person drowsy. People regard some pills as OTC sleep aids, but they are not. The pills, however, produce a similar feeling of drowsiness as a side effect.
Benzodiazepines: These are anti-anxiety medications. But some doctors will prescribe them to help patients sleep easily. They work in the same way as the “Z” drugs. However, they are more addictive.

These pills can be addictive—chances of addiction increase when people use them without consulting doctors first.

Effects of Sleeping Pills

Sleeping pills are beneficial. But they also have their dark side. Rely on them too much, and you will develop an addiction. Luckily, you can check yourself into a drug and alcohol detox center to get rid of the effects that these pills have on your body.

Other effects of these pills are:

Dependence: Using sleeping pills regularly alters the brain’s functionality. Your brain becomes dependent on medication for it to induce sleep. It can be difficult to get sleep in the long-run without using the pills.
Rebound insomnia: Rebound insomnia results from dependence. Once the body relies on pills to induce sleep, it can be difficult to stop this habit. Your insomnia may get worse if you stop using the pills.
Masking of a mental disorder: Your insomnia may be a result of a mental disorder, but you do not know. You resort to using sleeping pills, which appear to solve your case, but it is only masking your condition. You need to visit a mental health center first before you resort to self-medication.

Treatment at Oceanfront Recovery

At Oceanfront Recovery, we recognize the danger of abusing sleeping pills and aides. Thus, we have several treatment plans to help. Our plans are not rigid, and we design them in such a way that they can handle each unique case. Our addiction treatment staff offers professional care and will be there to assist at any given time.

Some of the programs are:

Sober living homes: The home allows you to live drug-free so that you can reduce your dependence. The environment is conducive to such a lifestyle at these homes.
Dual diagnosis treatment: The program will help to establish if you have any mental health issues because of the addiction to pills. It can also help establish if your insomnia results from the underlying condition.
Men’s rehab program and Women’s rehab program: Gender-specific treatment is sometimes the best option for certain individuals.