Desperately seeking snoozin’

Anyone who has ever lived with an infant knows the phrase “sleeping like a baby” connotes anything but peaceful, uninterrupted slumber. It can be hard to get infants to fall asleep and, once they’re snoozing, they’ll likely wake up throughout the night. Millions of adults, apparently, continue to sleep like babies.

A 2005 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that three-quarters of the population report sleep problems such as trouble falling asleep, waking during the night, waking up too early or waking up feeling unrefreshed.

Increasing numbers of people are turning to prescription sleeping pills, such as Ambien, for help. Prescriptions for sleep aids rose from about 29 million dispensed in 2001 to more than 43 million in 2005, according to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical market research service.

Monday marks the start of National Sleep Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Sleep Foundation.

“We’re a nation of sleep-deprived individuals,” says Elizabeth Hurd, clinical director of the Sleep Institute of Spokane. “Our society has kind of created a lot of sleep problems. … Sleep is one of the first things we seem to be willing to give up, and yet that’s not the way we should go. … Sleep is as important as diet and exercise.”

When we’re not getting enough sleep, it throws off our delicate internal rhythms, setting off a vicious cycle that makes it even more difficult to get some shut-eye.

“Once you interrupt that clock, you can actually train yourself to get up all night,” says John Williams, technician and lab coordinator at the Deaconess Medical Center Sleep Lab. “It doesn’t take long for that to become a habit.”

Often, doctors will prescribe a sleeping pill to reset those internal clocks.

But sleeping pills, particularly the widely used Ambien, have been making headlines and TV news spots in recent weeks. There have been reports of increasing numbers of people taking Ambien and driving, a dangerous combination. And patients have reported sleep-eating, sometimes gorging themselves on everything they can find, after taking the drug.

Some experts, though, say too much has been made of these unusual effects of Ambien.

In Washington, there were 78 reports last year of impaired drivers found to have Ambien in their systems, according to Ann Marie Gordon, manager of the state toxicology lab. Just three of those arrests came from Spokane County. In 2004, there were four Ambien-related driving arrests in Spokane County and 56 statewide.

Meanwhile, there were more than 1,000 marijuana-related arrests in the state and tens of thousands arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, Gordon notes.

“It’s important to put that into perspective,” she says.

Millions of people have taken or are currently using Ambien without any problems, experts say. But, as with any drug, users must be careful to follow their doctor’s recommendations.

“People are taking it inappropriately,” Hurd says. “Do not plan on driving after taking this medication. It may react with other medications. Do not take alcohol with it. … There’s a little consumer responsibility also.”

And unless a doctor specifically says otherwise, sleep aids shouldn’t be taken continuously for more than a couple of weeks, she says.

“Insomnia is a symptom,” she says. “There’s typically an underlying reason why you’re not able to sleep.”

Gordon has even heard reports of some people popping an Ambien while driving, expecting the drug to kick in once they’re home.

“What can these people be thinking with a sleeping pill?” she says. “The purpose of a sleeping pill is to make you sleep. … Better living through chemistry, but you have to be aware of the impact.”