Getting a good night’s sleep is important for both physical and mental health. During sleep, the brain and body recover from the day’s activities.
Good sleep supports memory, learning, mood, and the immune system.
However, millions of people around the world struggle to fall asleep, wake up many times during the night, or wake too early and cannot get back to sleep.
This common condition is known as insomnia.
Because poor sleep can make people feel tired, anxious, forgetful, and less able to concentrate, many people turn to sleep medicines for help. Some of these medicines require a prescription, while others can be bought from a pharmacy.
They include benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotic medicines such as Ambien, and some antidepressants that are also used to help people sleep.
Although these medicines can be helpful for short-term sleep problems, researchers are becoming more concerned about their possible long-term effects on brain health.
A new study has found that regular use of some sleep medicines may be linked to a higher risk of developing dementia. Dementia is not a normal part of aging. It is a group of conditions that slowly damage memory, thinking, language, and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. As the world’s population grows older, finding ways to reduce dementia risk has become an important goal for researchers.
The new research followed more than 3,000 older adults who did not have dementia when the study began. The participants were tracked for about nine years. During that time, around one in five people developed dementia.
The researchers discovered that the risk was not the same for everyone. White participants who regularly used sleep medicines were 79% more likely to develop dementia than those who did not use these medicines. In contrast, Black participants did not show the same increase in risk.
The researchers believe one possible reason is that Black participants used sleep medicines less often and had less access to several different types of these drugs.
The study suggests that both the type of sleep medicine and how often it is used may affect long-term brain health. While the research does not prove that sleep medicines directly cause dementia, it shows a strong link that deserves more attention. Other factors may also play a role, so more studies are needed to better understand the relationship.
Because of these findings, many experts recommend trying non-drug treatments before relying on sleep medicines for long periods. One important step is finding and treating health problems that disturb sleep, such as sleep apnea, chronic pain, anxiety, or depression.
Improving sleep habits can also make a big difference. Going to bed at the same time each night, limiting caffeine late in the day, avoiding screens before bedtime, and creating a quiet and comfortable bedroom may help many people sleep better.
Another treatment with strong scientific support is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, often called CBT-I. This treatment helps people change thoughts and habits that interfere with healthy sleep. Many studies have shown that CBT-I can improve sleep without the possible long-term risks linked to medicines.
Some people also use melatonin, a natural hormone made by the body that helps control the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin may be a safer choice for some people, but researchers say more studies are needed to understand whether it is completely safe and effective when used for many years.
Doctors and patients should carefully discuss the benefits and possible risks before using sleep medicines regularly, especially for older adults who may already have a higher risk of memory problems. In many cases, combining healthy sleep habits with non-drug treatments may provide a safer long-term solution.
The study was led by Dr. Yue Leng and was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The findings add to growing evidence that everyday medicines can sometimes have unexpected effects on long-term health and highlight the importance of choosing the safest treatment whenever possible.
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