Nearly 9 Million Americans Use Sleeping Pills: A Report

Some 8.6 million Americans rely on sleeping pills to fall asleep, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Based on data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the study found that 4 percent of those 20 years old and older reported using prescription sleep medication within the previous month -- a number that increased with age and education.

Women were also more likely to use sleep aids, with 5 percent reporting use compared to 3.1 percent of men. Use also varied depending on sleep duration, with those receiving less than 5 hours of sleep accounting for the highest number of individuals taking some kind of sleeping pill.

All told, the study revealed that one in six adults diagnosed with a sleep disorder and one in eight who reported having trouble sleeping also reported using sleep aids.

According to the CDC, between 50-70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders or deprivation, putting them at risk not only of decreased daily functioning, but adverse health effects as well. And while prescription sleep aids may represent effective treatment, the health agency warns that the drugs bring with them their own set of problems. As evidence, the report cites a 2012 BMJ study that found aking them "was associated with greater than threefold increased hazards of death" even when less than 18 pills per year were prescribed.

In fact, LiveScience reports the lead author of the BMJ study, Dr. Daniel Kripke, as saying that "Most authorities think the use of sleeping pills should be minimized."

"We know [sleep aids] make sleep apnea worse. We know they cause automobile accidents, depression, and infection," Kripke, a professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, said. "But the most important effects are controversial -- increased mortality and increased cancer."