Multiple factors have contributed in the increasing sleeping disorders in adults, which in turn have surged the demand for sleeping pills. A new research published by Behavioral Neuroscience in the Frontiers journal proposes a safer substitute to sleeping pills. As compared to conventional sleeping pills which strongly cause drowsiness and prevent the transmission of any signal to the brain, the proposed drug is said to have specific characteristics, wherein the one who takes them can sense threat even in the state of deep slumber. Once the threat is over, the individual can drift back to sleep.
According to CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1/3rd of U.S. adults find it difficult to get sound sleep on a daily basis. Additionally, about 50 to 70 Mn individuals in U.S. suffer from either sleep deprivation or insomnia. CDC report further stated that approximately 4% of the U.S. population above 20 years pop sleeping pills and this percent intensifies with education and age. Furthermore, 1 in every 8 adults rely on sleeping pills to get adequate sleep. However, whether sleeping pills are safe for consumption is yet debatable.
Various researches have been carried out which have highlighted the adverse effects of popping a sleeping pill on a daily basis. With a continued usage of sleeping pills over a long period of time, one can easily get accustomed to these drugs and as a result, the body needs a higher dose of the drug. If the dose of the drug consumed is too high, it could cause breathing issues during sleep, which can eventually cause death. Moreover, a prolonged usage of these pills can cause drowsiness the next morning, since the chemical contents may still have their deposits in the body. Diarrhea, dizziness, and impairment on the following day are some of its additional side-effects.
The most dangerous side-effect is however, when an individual cannot sense a threat-like situation and fall a victim to it. The new drug developed by Behavioral Neuroscience possesses an intrinsic property that enables a person to wake up from his sleep and respond to the dangerous situation. Prof. Kuwaki, along with his team devised this novel solution by testing the drug on mice. He reported that the rodent woke up as soon as his brain sensed danger. Additionally, once the threat was over, the mice fell asleep. The professor and his team proposed a solution named, “Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists (DORAs)” to enable the transmission of threat signals to the brain even during deep slumber.