Millions of People in US Use Prescription Drugs to Sleep

More than nine million people in the United States use prescription drugs to sleep according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Majority of the people who used prescription sleeping pills are white, female, educated or 50 or older and the CDC revealed that there may be many more who make use of over the counter drugs or chamomile tea to help them sleep while many simply suffer through sleepless nights.

The researchers surveyed around 17,000 adults between 2005 and 2010 of which around 4 percent admitted to having taken a prescription sleeping pill or sedative to help them sleep in the past month.

Though this is the first time that such a study is being conducted, the researchers calculated that prescription sleeping pills use has risen by 3.3 percent between 2003-2006 to 4.3 percent during 2007-2010.



Source: Medindia