Initially, sleeping pills help you get to sleep faster and sometimes help you sleep longer, as illustrated in the sleeping pill vicious cycle below. However, their regular nightly use is associated with a gradual loss of their sedating effect. This can lead to an increase in dose which provides a short-term improvement in sleep. But again, regular use leads to a loss of the sedating effect. It is common for you to experience a return of insomnia when stopping sleeping pills, especially when you have been using them for a long time. The insomnia can be worse than it was in the past. This is because stopping the medication causes a withdrawal syndrome. Insomnia is a symptom of withdrawal. This can reinforce your belief that you need a sleeping pill. Re-starting the sleeping pill when experiencing withdrawal insomnia (and other withdrawal symptoms) quickly resolves the withdrawal syndrome. In doing so it established the vicious cycle. Experiencing a withdrawal syndrome indicates that you have developed a physical dependence to your sleeping pill and this can lead to a psychological dependence on it.
There is a better way. Stopping your sleeping pill AND getting a good night’s sleep is possible. This is the purpose of Sleepwell – to help people with insomnia get their sleep back and to help you learn how to stop sleeping pills safely and successfully.
