Insomnia under the microscope and the role of ambien

Insomnia is largely the result of our pace of life. Not surprisingly, the WHO report on sleep disorders across the North America revealed that citizens of large cities are 28% more subjected to sleep disorder risks. is characterized by two symptoms: difficulty falling asleep and frequent awakening at night. In many patients both symptoms manifest at the same time and quite frequently, dramatically reducing their performance and quality of life. According to National Sleep Foundation conducted in 2007, 67% of women collided with sleep problems on a regular basis.

Typically, a clinical picture of a person visiting the doctor’s office for the first time is the following: male/female, between 30 and 45 years old, having problems with sleep within the last several months, complaining about their problems with falling asleep and frequent awakenings. As the problems start, a person is getting disturbed even with one thought of going to sleep. In many cases the therapists diagnose insomnia, prescribe Ambien CR and recommended to take it for as long as the problem persists. But are there any risks of addiction one should keep in mind?

Here’s what professor Giora Filler, the director of the sleep disorders clinic Clalit based in Haifa says. ’According to the symptoms people describe they mostly and actually suffer from insomnia. Today, the disease affects about 30% of the adult population of busy cities. Some people suffering from sleep disorders and ignoring the problems let the problem flow into a chronic form. Ambien CR - is a brand-new generation of sleeping pills containing no benzodeazepines; and the risk of addiction to this type of sleeping pills is relatively low. Starting from 2006 and up to 2011, over 38 million of Ambien prescriptions has been issued according to IMS Health. Ambien is dominating the market of insomnia pills, which was estimated at $1.6bn in the US in 2013 according to the publication at Huffington Post.

Ambien, a representative of hypnotic medications group, was approved for commercial sales almost 25 years ago. Initially it was created for short term application to eliminate insomnia and was a warmly welcomed alternative to strong sleep aid, Halcion, the pills that were confirmed to trigger suicidal behaviour and addiction, and discontinued in a number of countries. Ambien is designed to activate GABA neurotransmitter and bind it to the GABA receptors, located in the same area that benzodiazepines reached (e.g. Xanax). The additional GABA activity induced by the preparation provides an inhibitive impact on neuron activity which is tightly interconnected with with sleep disorder issues. To put it simply, it makes the brain work slower. Ambien demonstrates remarkable effectiveness at sleep initiation, within approximately 15 - 25 minutes. But when it comes at maintaining sleep, Ambien is far less effective - it may not be the best solution to deal with frequent awakenings at night, although the drug has a positive effect on their minimization.