The report is alarming: 6.5 million boxes of sleeping pills are sold each year in France according to the National Health Insurance Fund.
Worse: number of regular users make dubious mixes. More than 22% swallow two psychotropic drugs simultaneously, one to sleep and the other to relieve their anxiety, for example. And 0.7% ingest even sometimes three according to a report from the Agency for Drug Safety.
Sleeping pills: not so harmless drugs ...
A mismanagement causing sometimes serious side effects: fall, drop in blood pressure, dependence ...
It has also been recently shown that benzodiazepines - the family of drugs to which most of the anxiolytics and sleeping pills belong - " degrade the memory and increase the risk of cerebral degeneration ", explains Pr Bernard Bégaud, pharmacoepidemiologist at the University of Bordeaux. Better to escape this spiral infernal.
The right timing to stop sleeping pills
It is certainly difficult to get weaned at once because the addiction is not only physical but also psychological. Will alone is not enough .
In addition, because of the phenomenon of habituation , a sudden stop can trigger rebound effects, that is to say the reappearance or worsening of sleep disorders . This is why many addicted to sleeping pills plunged back after an attempt at weaning badly engaged.
The best solution ? Choose the right time and reduce the medication very gradually. We do not go into a process of detoxification in times of acute stress (announcement of dismissal, divorce, death of a loved one ...). It is best to determine with your doctor the most favorable date.
Stepwise weaning
To end the dependence on sleeping pills, the ideal is to reduce the doses very gradually. "From one tablet a day, we go to 3/4 tablet, then when everything goes well to ½, then to ¼, then to 1/8 th ... Then, we space the catches: a day on two, then a day on three, and so on until the total stop, "advises Dr. Loic Etienne, emergency doctor.
Each level may require one to two weeks, one month or more depending on the intensity of the addiction.
Relaxation techniques to the rescue
Feeling a little nervous or having trouble sleeping in the detox phase is normal. The body must get used to working without a chemical kickstand.
During this delicate period, it can be useful to be accompanied . "Relaxation techniques (sophrology, yoga, self-hypnosis ...) and cognitive and behavioral therapies (CBT) are aids to learn how to manage anxiety and fall asleep without sleeping aid," said Dr. François Duforez, of Sleep Center of the Hôtel-Dieu. Do not hesitate to get help.
