The Dangers of Using Sleep Aids for Sleep Apnea Treatment

is one of the most common sleep disorders in the US, but according to the American Sleep Apnea Association, about 80% of people with the condition are either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, meaning they are going completely untreated. As a result, many turn to a variety of sleep aids to help them get the rest they need. If you’re suffering from OSA, could taking an over-the-counter-sleep aid serve as an effective sleep apnea treatment? Unfortunately, many common sleep aids can actually make the condition much worse, and they should be avoided if you have the slightest hint that you’re suffering from sleep apnea.

Sleeping Pills

Benzodiazepines are a very common class of drugs that are usually prescribed to help people dealing with sleeping problems and/or anxiety. They include well-known medications such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and Restoril just to name a few. Studies have shown that these medications can actually decrease breathing in patients with OSA, worsening the effects of an already dangerous condition.

However, non-benzodiazepine drugs such as Lunesta and Ambien have been shown to be safe for patients with OSA, though they shouldn’t be considered a primary treatment.

Opioids

Opioid medications have been in the news quite a bit over the past few years, and many people turn to them to treat their sleep apnea because they can help people fall asleep faster and stay asleep during the night. At the same time, opioids have been shown to severely interfere with breathing during sleep, increasing the number of apnea events (stoppages in breathing) a person experiences during the night.

Alcohol

Alcohol is still one of the most popular sleep aids used around the world despite its well-known health effects. Many people turn to it because it helps them fall asleep more quickly, but this is because alcohol acts as a sedative. After the sedation wears off (which is usually after a couple of hours), a person is much more likely to wake up during the night and not sleep as deeply, which can compound the problems for someone already dealing with sleep apnea.

The Bottom Line

If you believe that you have sleep apnea, you should avoid using sleep aids as the primary form of treatment, as they can do more harm than good. In order to gain lasting relief from the condition, you should talk to your doctor, and they can help you find the treatment that works best for you, whether that be CPAP therapy, oral appliance therapy, or surgery.

Basically, sleep aids can work as a Band-Aid for the condition, but they will never provide a long-term solution, and they will likely just make things much worse as time goes on.

About the Author

Dr. Kenneth Mogell is a certified sleep dentist and Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. He has been providing sleep apnea treatment in Jupiter for over 30 years using custom-made oral appliances. If you think that you have sleep apnea, or if you already have a diagnosis, and you are self-medicating to deal with the condition, he can help you get the solution you need for better sleep AND better health long-term. To learn more, he can be contacted through his website.