Sleep Trips: Your Night on Prescription Sleeping Pills, Melatonin, and Other Sleep Solutions

According to the CDC in a 2014 article from The Atlantic, between 50 and 70 million Americans are thought to suffer from sleep disorders and about 4 percent of adults use prescription medication to get a good night's sleep. It's also been noted that 5 percent of women take sleep aids while only 3.1 percent of men do, and a 2007 NIH study showed that sleeping pills only add around 11 minutes of sleep time and help the user drift off to sleep just 13 minutes sooner. There have been countless documented adventures that have come as the result of taking sleep aids. Several people have awakened to discover that they spent the night as a food scientist cooking up different dish combinations or eating whole bags of chicken nuggets. One woman started to gain weight without explanation until she realized she had been eating boxes upon boxes of cereal in the middle of the night after taking her sleeping pill, and now has to lock all cereal in her car to stop the night munchies! Still others have sleepwalked or sleep-driven their way to new locations and places. Some have parked their cars next door or down the block, while others have driven to the gym or the office in the middle of the night and awakened there the next morning. While many of the stories involving popular prescription sleeping pills such as Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata and others are humorous and lighthearted, there are a number of tales that could have had extremely unfortunate consequences. One that comes to mind is the story, reported by Thought Catalog, of a woman who took Ambien, then retrieved her handgun, loaded it, fired four shots into her front door and woke up the next morning with no recollection of the previous night's events. Other sleep aid side effects include headaches, muscle aches, constipation, dry mouth, daytime sleepiness, trouble concentrating, dizziness, unsteadiness and rebound insomnia. If you're looking for a sleep aid that doesn't involve any medication, try SHEEX®! SHEEX Performance Bedding® is designed to keep you cool at night and help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. SHEEX® provide unrivaled comfort, innovative breathability and moisture-wicking technologies that traditional cotton sheets simply cannot offer. No matter how you sleep, there's a sheet set for you. Whether you have trouble sleeping now or are looking to step away from your sleep aid, give SHEEX® a try — and hopefully the only story you'll have to tell is about your great night's sleep!