Daily Health News Blog

It would be a dream come true if we could all be good sleepers. But for many of us who are not, sleeping pills are a help. Or are they? Actually, sleeping pills are usually of limited effectiveness, all have potential risks, and none have been tested for long-term safety. That’s why most of the pills have been approved only for short-term use. Now a study in the online journal  BMJ Open  has linked prescription sleeping pills to a surprisingly high risk of premature death. The risk of dying over a 2.5-year period was four times higher among pill users, a finding that held up after the data were adjusted for many health and lifestyle factors. Even occasional users had a higher death rate, though the risk increased with more frequent use. This is not the first study linking sleeping pills to higher death rates. Many factors are involved. The drugs can cause falls and car crashes, even the next day, and may worsen depression. The study also found that people taking at least