Sleeping pillscan be a godsend: finally a night of sleep after suffering frominsomniafor far too long.
This relief can be short-lived, however, and this can be a source of frustration and desperation.
What causes sleeping pills to become less effective over time?
Dreet Production / Getty Images
This change may relate to a principle in pharmacology cause tachyphylaxis.
Initially, the medication offers sweet relief: a night of uninterrupted sleep.
However, gradually the medication may seem to begin to fail you.
It is less effective, not seeming to work like it once did.
You may even find that you oughta escalate the dose to get the same impact.
Rather than needing just one tablet, you are taking two.
With more time, even this escalation in the dose does not seem to be quite enough.
The sleeping pill may even stop working entirely.
What should you do and why is this happening?
This phenomenon occurs due to a natural process called tolerance.
Although it may sound like it relates to addiction, it does not have to.
In fact, tolerance often occurs in response to the continued exposure to a medication.
It refers to the fact that the exposure results in a gradually diminished response to the same dose.
Imagine walking into your house and smelling fresh bread baking in the oven.
Shortly thereafter, you probably dont even notice the smell.
If you step outside and come back in, however, it will be evident again.
The degree of the smell is not changing; your bodys response to it is, however.
This can be related to metabolism.
In the brain, the nerve cells can change the number and responsiveness of receptors.
This has an important effect on the impact of sleeping pills.
Thereafter, though the drug levels may be similar, the response is not.
In time, the sleeping pill seems to stop working as well.
The amount of time to this response varies.
This may be good for drug companies who manufacture the drugs, but perhaps less good for people.
What Options Exist to Avoid Tachyphylaxis and Tolerance?
Fortunately, there are some options to avoid tachyphylaxis and tolerance with the use of sleeping pills.
In some cases, it may be necessary to increase the dose or switch gradually to a new medication.
The best-case scenario would be to pursue non-medication treatment options for insomnia.
Soldin OP, Mattison DR.Sex differences in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.Clin Pharmacokinet.
Miyasato K.[The definition of drug dependence].Nippon Rinsho; 68(8):1431-6.
Alcohol.org.Sleeping pills and alcohol: effects & treatment.
Pagel JF, Parnes BL.Medications for the treatment of sleep disorders: an overview.Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry.
2001 Jun;3(3):118-125. doi:10.4088/pcc.v03n0303
