Signs Of Sleeping Pill Addiction And Abuse

What Are The Signs Of Sleeping Pill Addiction?

An addiction to sleeping pills occurs when you are unable to stop or cut down on using sleeping pills, regardless of the harmful behaviors and consequences it is causing in your life.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) outlines the full criteria for clinically diagnosing an addiction. These criteria include behavioral, physical, and psychological symptoms that result from prolonged drug use, including:

• Needing larger doses to fall asleep
• Trying and failing to quit more than once
• Ignoring obligations
• Experiencing the urge to use sleeping pills during the day
• Seeming confused or frequently detached
• Isolating oneself from friends and family
• Engaging in hazardous behavior
• Experiencing withdrawal symptoms
• Losing interest in previously enjoyed activities
• Craving sleeping pills
• Having mood swings

Rebound Insomnia

Rebound insomnia is a withdrawal side effect commonly seen in people who use sleeping pills for a prolonged period of time. Rebound insomnia is characterized by the resurgence of insomnia once you stop taking sleeping pills or drastically reduce their dose. Often, this kind of insomnia is worse than the original insomnia. Rebound insomnia might even cause bizarre and disturbing dreams that can lead to panic attacks and increased anxiety upon waking.

Rebound insomnia is a sleeping pill withdrawal symptom and should not be considered a reason to continue use. Rebound insomnia is often the cause of relapse for those trying to recover. This can create a dangerous cycle of abuse.

Signs Of Sleeping Pill Abuse

Sleeping pill abuse is when you take them in other ways than prescribed or go against the instructions for use. Examples of abuse include taking more than prescribed or for longer than prescribed, using them to get high, taking someone else’s pills, crushing and snorting them, or buying them illegally. Other signs that you are abusing sleeping pills include:

• You have cravings for sleeping pills
• You visit multiple doctors to write you prescriptions for sleeping pills (doctor shopping)
• You take sleeping pills even when you don’t need them (example: you take them to get high or to sleep during the day because you are depressed or bored)
• You hide sleeping pill bottles or packets
• You wake up the next morning with a sleeping pill “hangover”, feeling groggy and slow
• You experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability and trouble sleeping, when you stop taking sleeping pills
• You experience memory loss the next day
• You have trouble concentrating
• You experience dreamless sleep
• You have rebound insomnia
• You experience a decline in work or school performance

How Do I Know If Someone Is Abusing Sleeping Pills?

If you are worried that your loved one is abusing sleeping pills, the following signs are what you should look out for:

• They are sleeping more than usual, sleeping during the day, or at odd hours
• They appear drunk (off balance, slurring of speech, confused, or poor coordination)
• They sleepwalk
• They appear irritable or on edge.
• They are socially withdrawn (spending less time with loved ones and friends)
• They appear tired or groggy
• They use alcohol or other drugs while using prescription pills
• They have empty pill bottles around the home
• They exhibit abrupt changes in mood and behavior
• They have difficulty remembering past events or conversations

Though rare, people who use sleeping pills may even develop parasomnias. Parasomnias are defined as sleep disorders that include behaviors like sleepwalking, sleep-eating, sleep-sex, sleep-driving, and other potentially dangerous sleep-related activities.

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Who Is At Risk For Sleeping Pill Addiction?

Anyone who misuses sleeping pills is at risk of forming an addiction. However, women, older adults, and people with a lower income are specifically at higher risk of developing a sleeping pill addiction.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health Interview Survey reported data on sleeping pill use, including:

• Women were more likely to take sleep medication than men across all age, race, ethnicity, and income groups.
• Sleep medication use was also highest among older adults, with 11.9% of those 65 and older saying they use a sleep aid every night or most nights.
• Sleep medication use fell as family income rose, from 10% among adults below the federal poverty level to 8.2% among those making two or more times the federal poverty level. People with higher debt and lower incomes often have higher stress levels, which can result in impaired and insufficient sleep.

Older adults are more prone to experience negative side effects from medications such as sleeping pills. These negative effects include increased risk of falls, confusion, broken bones, and cognitive impairment.

How Do I Help Someone With A Sleeping Pill Addiction?

If someone you care about is showing signs and symptoms of having an addiction to sleeping pills, it is important to encourage them to seek help. You can start by having an open-ended conversation about why you are concerned and ask them if they feel as though they are abusing sleeping pills.

Try to express that you care about them, their well-being, and their safety. Because you care, you want to see them receive the appropriate help to get better. Coming from a place of compassion and concern is the best way to intervene. You don’t want to blame, stigmatize, point fingers, or guilt them into treatment. You can even offer up resources you have found, such as support groups, different types of therapies used to treat sleep medication addiction, and reputable addiction treatment programs in your area.

How Is Sleeping Pill Addiction Treated?

​​Sleeping pill addiction treatment is usually carried out in either an inpatient or an outpatient setting, depending on the severity of your addiction, your support system, and insurance coverage.

Detoxification is the first step in treatment, and the goal is to minimize unpleasant withdrawal symptoms under supervision. Once the drug is cleared from your body, the treatment team can focus on recognizing underlying factors that have lead to the addiction and develop healthy coping skills to address these factors in the future.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to treat the sleeping pill addiction as well as the underlying insomnia that may have triggered your use of sleeping pills.

Insomnia and other sleep-related disorders are common, and you may have an underlying mental health or substance use disorder that is driving this insomnia. Instead of relying on prescription sleep medications, the goal is to get to the bottom of what is causing your insomnia and work to treat the underlying cause. Sleep hygiene is a crucial factor in treating insomnia.

Get Started Today

If you or someone you know has a problem with sleeping pills, help is available. Contact a treatment provider or browse our rehab directory to learn more about your treatment options and start your recovery journey today.