Sleeping pills are not safe for anyone! Not for people with congestive heart failure (CHF), and not for healthy adults with insomnia. We are not talking about minor issues; we're talking about problems leading to hospital re-admissions, death, or an increased risk for developing cancer!
According to information presented in May of 2014 at the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology in Athens, Greece, the risk for a major cardiac event in patients discharged from the hospital with CHF is increased 8 fold. And, because patients with CHF often have insomnia, they are usually given prescriptions for sleeping pills!
In another article published in the February 2012 issue of the British Medical Journal, adults using sleeping pills that included Restoril, Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, and some antihistamines such as Benadryl, had a 3 fold increased risk for early death and a 35% increased risk for developing cancer. Wow! People using as little as 1-2 sleeping pills per month had a 360% increase in these risks and those taking just one pill every 3 nights had a 530% increase in these risks.
This points out how important it is to find out why someone is not sleeping and to treat the cause rather than just suppressing the symptoms of insomnia. If you're interested in taking a free health assessment on insomnia that will take just 3 minutes to learn more about why you have it and what you can do that is safe, click here.
