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Some drugs can negatively affect sleep

16. 4. 2009

Almost 48% of the population suffers from intermittent or persistent sleep disorders, and 10-15% of the population suffers from severe insomnia. Sleep disturbances become more common as people get older, usually when they are taking more medication for various ailments. Have you ever thought that some commonly consumed substances, including medicines, could also trigger your insomnia?


16.4.2009

Almost 48% of the population suffers from intermittent or persistent sleep disorders, and 10-15% of the population suffers from severe insomnia. Sleep disturbances become more common as people get older, when they tend to take more medication for various ailments.

Do medications affect sleep?

Have you ever thought that some commonly consumed substances, including medications, could also trigger or contribute to your insomnia?

This connection is well known about coffee, or the caffeine in it, strong black tea (containing theine, theobromine and theophylline) or alcohol. And what drugs can affect your sleep to the point of causing insomnia?

  • Psychostimulants - mainly a drug used to treat obesity, an anorectic, the so-called "golden egg"
  • thyroid hormones - used to treat thyroid disorders, sleep problems are usually a symptom of overdose
  • antihypertensives - drugs for high blood pressure, mainly from the beta-blocker group
  • hypolipidemics - cholesterol-lowering drugs from the statin group
  • antidepressants - drugs for treating symptoms of depression, especially drugs from the SSRI group, which are third-generation antidepressants, and from the IMAO group; recent studies show that up to 5-19% of depressed patients complain of medication-induced insomnia6. antiasthmatics - bronchodilators - one group of drugs is chemically derived from caffeine (they are theophylline drugs)
  • some commonly used analgesics can also have a negative effect on sleep
  • corticosteroids - steroid hormones used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases in tablet form
  • antipsychotics, neuroleptics or Alzheimer's drugs - substances from the group of drugs used to treat mental illnesses
Whenever you take medicines from these above groups and have any sleep disturbances, consult the doctor who prescribed these medicines for you. The doctor may be able to 'match' their effects, or possibly replace the medicine that is causing your insomnia with another medicine that is more suitable for your undisturbed sleep.

(jnl)

Source:

U Lékaře.cz