FOX Medical Team: Sleeping Pill Hangover

ATLANTA - With everything we've got on our plates, getting good night's sleep can be pretty hard to come by these days. So, a lot of folks are turning to sleeping pills for help. But there could be a downside.

They call it the "sleeping pill hangover." It's that groggy, confused feeling you can wake up with after taking a sleeping pill.

If you're sleep-starved, medication can be a lifesaver. But sleeping pills affect everyone differently. So, one expert says read the warning label before you pop that pill.

The last time a lot of us can remember getting sleep this good, we were crashed on mats,
sucking our thumbs and naptime was mandatory.

But as we get older, it's goodbye, sweet sleep.

"I don't think sleep is something we see as a priority. Or even a need. It's just one of those things that happens," said psychiatrist and author Dr. Tracey Marks

But for a lot of us, sleep is not happening. So, we pop a sleeping pill.

"There are some people who really do need to be on a sleeping pill, like someone with a lot of medical problems," said Marks.

But psychiatrist Dr. Tracey Marks, author of the book "Master Your Sleep," says unfortunately, there is no perfect sleeping pill.

"A perfect one would be where you take it, you fall asleep very quickly, you sleep all through the night and you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go."

Most sleep aids don't do all those things.

"Some of them will take a long time to work, and people will get frustrated. Some of them can knock you out pretty quickly, and then you wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep."

And, sometimes, the pills work almost too well.

"But you wake up feeling foggy headed, not real clear, and feel like they need to splash cold water on their face to get started."

For the occasionally sleep-deprived, over-the-counter sleep aids like nighttime pain relievers and Benadryl - use antihistamines - an allergy medication - to make you sleepy.

Dr. Marks says they're okay once in awhile, but can leave you dry-mouthed and groggy the next day.

"I've always felt that if someone is going to take something for sleep, they'd be better taking a prescription pill. Because those are more designed for sleep."

The FDA-approved sleep medications - again designed for occasional insomnia - are called "hypnotics." They're prescription drugs like Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata -- and they come with warning labels they can cause drowsiness and dizziness.

Dr. Marks says they can also cause strange - soemtimes dangerous - sleep behaviors.

"Like sleep driving, sleep eating, that can happen with any of these medications, and it's hit or miss, you don't know who is going to be affected that way."

As we age, we don't sleep as well. But older people need to be very careful about taking sleeping pills. Because the drowsiness and dizziness they can cause - can cause them to fall - and that's dangerous.

So, a couple tips - for taking the medication:

1. First take it early, when you have 7 or 8 hours to sleep.
2. Take the correct dose - not more.
3. Don't mix sleep aids and alcohol. Drinking can amplify the affect of the sleep medication.