What is the danger of taking sleeping pills for a long period of time?

Dr. Michael Breus explains the danger of taking sleeping pills for a long period of time. Watch this Ask the Experts for Dr. Breus's tips on healthy sleep.

Transcript

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[MUSIC PLAYING] MICHAEL BREUS: In some cases, taking sleeping pills for an extended period of time might actually be appropriate.

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If you have a medical condition or you're taking another medication that might promote sleeplessness, then that might make sense. But for most people, It should be

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a short-term use of medication. So what do I mean by short-term use? People should be using medication somewhere in

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between, maybe, three or four weeks as high as, maybe, 12 or 15 weeks depending upon what their situation is

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and who they're talking with in terms of their doctor. Now, there are lots of different sleep medications out there and some of them can actually be OK for longer periods of time,

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some for shorter periods of time. So let's talk about that for just a second. The prescribed sleep medications are designed to be used for between 30 and 45 days.

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While I've had patients that have been on medications longer, I've had patients that have been on medication shorter, you and your doctor need to sit down and decide

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if that makes sense for you. When we talk about over-the-counter medications, those are generally not supposed to be used every night. And they certainly shouldn't be used for more than about two

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to three weeks. If you're using anything for longer than that and your doctor doesn't know about it, one of the first things you need to do is talk with your doctor.

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Because some of those over-the-counter medications can, in fact, interact with other medications that you might be taking and that can pose a danger to you.