A sleeping pill may be effective at ending your sleep problems short-term. But it's important to make sure you understand everything you need to know about sleeping pills. That includes knowing about sleeping pill side effects . When you do, you can avoid misusing these sedatives.

Between a third and half of all Americans have insomnia and complain of poor sleep . Perhaps you're one of them. If so, you may be considering taking a sleeping pill.

What Are Sleeping Pills?

Most sleeping pills are classified as "sedative hypnotics." That's a specific class of drugs used to induce and/or maintain sleep. Sedative hypnotics include benzodiazepines, barbiturates, and various hypnotics.

Benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Valium, Ativan, and Librium are anti-anxiety medications. They also increase drowsiness and help people sleep. Halcion is an older benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic medicine that has largely been replaced by newer medicines. While these drugs may be useful short-term, all benzodiazepines are potentially addictive and can cause problems with memory and attention. They are usually not recommended for long-term treatment of sleeping problems.

Barbiturates, another drug in this sedative-hypnotic class, depress the central nervous system and can cause sedation. Short- or long-acting barbiturates are prescribed as sedatives or sleeping pills. But more commonly, these hypnotic drugs are limited to use as anesthesia.They can be fatal in overdose.

Newer medications help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. Some of these sleep-inducing drugs, which bind to the same receptors in the brain as do benzodiazepines, include Lunesta, Sonata, and Ambien. They are somewhat less likely than benzodiazepines to be habit-forming, but over time can still sometimes cause physical dependence. They can work quickly to increase drowsiness and sleep. Another sleep aid, called Rozerem, acts differently from other sleep medicines by affecting a brain hormone called melatonin, and is not habit-forming. Belsomra is another unique sleep aid that affects a brain chemical called orexin, and is not addictive or habit-forming. Another sleep medicine that is not habit-forming, Silenor, is a low-dose form of the tricyclic antidepressant doxepin.