Mergenhagen says it’s very difficult for researchers to nail down the long-term risks associated with regular use of these drugs. (Mergenhagen was also a co-author on the Veterans Affairs sleep-aid study.) Headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and hallucinations are a few of the short-term concerns associated with hypnotics-a class of prescription drugs designed to induce sleep that includes Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata and other popular meds, she says. “There are new reports of side effects coming out on a yearly basis,” says Kari Mergenhagen, a clinical pharmacist and adjunct instructor at the University of Buffalo. Prescription sleep aids carry their own risks.
(To his knowledge, these studies are not being done.)
“But the only way to 100% attribute a health issue to any specific treatment is through a randomized trial,” Maust says, referring to an experiment in which one group of people is given a drug and another is not. A more recent study from the UK turned up only “tentative” links, and its authors stated that more research is needed. The links between these OTC drugs and dementia are far from certain. For individuals who took these drugs about once every three days (or more), their dementia risks rose by 54% compared to people who did not take these types of medications. One 2015 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that over a 10-year period, people who regularly took the amount of diphenhydramine found in two Benadryl or two Extra Strength Tylenol PM pills roughly once every week or two were at significantly increased risk for dementia. “Another concern for which evidence is growing is that long-term use appears to increase the risk of dementia-and the more use, the greater the risk,” Maust says. There is also growing worry about another more-serious risk associated with these OTC drugs. In this way, the medications a patient is taking-and their many side effects-can add up quickly. “That new drug may have side effects too, so then something else is added to manage those,” she says. A man experiencing this issue may not attribute it to the sleep medicine he’s taking at night to sleep, and if he fails to mention it to his doctor, he may be prescribed a new medication to treat his bladder problems. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.įor example, in men with prostate conditions, anticholinergic drugs can lead to urinary retention, or problems fully emptying the bladder, Schroeck says. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. Department of Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System and co-author of a 2016 review published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics on the safety of sleep aids among older adults.įor your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. The side effects of these OTC pills can also set off a “prescribing cascade,” says Jennifer Schroeck, a clinical pharmacist with the U.S. For these reasons, the American Geriatric Society has deemed these drugs “generally inappropriate” for seniors. Diphenhydramine is an anticholinergic drug, which means it blocks activity of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which plays a role in muscle activation and also in brain functions like alertness, learning and memory, Maust says.Īs a result of this blocking effect, these OTC drugs can cause constipation, confusion and other side effects, which Maust says may be more likely to affect older adults. Donovan Maust, co-author of the recent study and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Michigan Medicine.
“Many OTC sleep aids-such as Benadryl and Tylenol PM-contain diphenhydramine,” says Dr.