Many older adults struggle with insomnia, and for decades doctors have often prescribed benzodiazepines and related drugs to help them sleep.
These medications are cheap, widely available, and commonly used.
But they also come with serious risks: they can be addictive, difficult to quit, and dangerous if stopped suddenly, leading to withdrawal symptoms, falls, hospitalizations, and even memory problems.
Now, new research from Concordia University suggests that these drugs may actually make sleep quality worse in older adults who use them long term.
The study, published in the journal SLEEPJ, found that chronic use of benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) negatively affects brain activity during sleep—particularly the rhythms that are important for memory and overall brain health.
“These drugs don’t even improve the sleep of older adults who use them long term,” said Thanh Dang-Vu, a neurologist at the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal and professor at Concordia.
“In addition to not being very safe, they make sleep worse in ways that can harm the brain.”
The research team studied 101 adults between the ages of 55 and 80. Participants were divided into three groups: good sleepers, people with insomnia, and people with insomnia who regularly used benzodiazepines or BZRAs at least three times per week for over three months.
Each participant’s sleep was measured using an overnight sleep study called polysomnography, which tracks brainwaves, breathing, heart rate, and sleep stages.
Compared with people who had insomnia but did not take medication, the pill-using group spent less time in deep sleep. Deep sleep, marked by slow brainwaves, steady breathing, and lower heart rate, is especially important for consolidating memories and maintaining cognitive health.
The researchers also found that chronic users had weaker connections between different brain rhythms. Normally, these rhythms synchronize to help process and store information during sleep. When they are disrupted, memory and cognition can suffer. Dosage made a difference too: higher doses were linked with longer times to fall asleep and slower progression into deep sleep.
“These findings suggest that these sleeping pills actually disrupt the architecture of sleep and interfere with brain activity linked to memory,” said lead author Loïc Barbaux. “That may explain why they’ve been associated with declines in cognitive function, which are already a concern with aging.”
Experts say these drugs can still be useful for younger adults when used cautiously and only for short periods. But for people over 65, organizations like the American Geriatrics Society recommend avoiding them entirely.
Instead, researchers suggest a gradual reduction of the medication, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, to help older adults safely stop and improve their sleep naturally.
“This study shows that it’s time for health systems to prioritize safer and more accessible alternatives for treating insomnia,” Dang-Vu said.
If you care about sleep, please read studies that Sleeping pill lowers key Alzheimer’s disease markers and Scientists discover the link between sleep apnea and dementia risk.
For more health information, please read studies that Common sleep supplement could improve memory and Scientists find link between short sleep and higher risk of long COVID.
