music to my ears, I think Zopiclone is the most effect sleep med. Peter Attia likes Trazodone
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More good reasons to figure out how to get a good night’s sleep:
Summary: New research suggests that disrupted sleep in one’s 30s and 40s may lead to memory and cognitive problems a decade later. While the study doesn’t establish a causal relationship, it highlights an association between sleep quality and cognitive health.
Researchers followed 526 participants for 11 years and found that those with the most disrupted sleep had over twice the odds of experiencing poor cognitive performance later in life. This emphasizes the importance of addressing sleep quality for long-term cognitive health.
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I want to chime in here by saying I think undiagnosed sleep apnea of some sort (even if mild) is probably pretty rampant. A cpap machine could be the answer for some people.
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@RapAdmin, unfortunately, suvorexant has a long half-life, which could result in next-day grogginess. It’s even more uinfortunate that suvorexant is not nearly as effective as the benzos and the Z-drugs. I take a low-dose benzo and an antihistamine, a combo that gives me eight or nine hours of uninterrupted sleep.
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I use an Oura ring to watch for low O2 during sleep. If I sleep on my back, it shows up on the nightly results.
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I appreciate you being brave enough to admit this as I’m sure some will give you a hard time. I also fell into a bad habit of taking a benzo (1mg of Xanax) before bed to sleep for a few years. I no longer do this unless I’m struggling to fall asleep. I hear people say sleep quality is reduced if you do this, but honestly I feel better the next day if I took one and slept 8 hours compared to not taking it and sleeping 5 1/2 hours.
Which do you use and what dose? Also what antihistamine?
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That’s quite interesting, have you had a sleep study or a CT scan? I’m 150 pounds, very lean and had no idea I had apnea. I discovered lax tissue in my throat via a scan that was blocking my airway when I lay on my back. I opted for Nightlase treatment and it has made a massive difference I’ve more or less cured my apnea. I know it does work for everyone and unfortunately it’s not covered by insurance. Might be worth investigating if you feel it’s affecting your sleep.
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Thanks for the info. I do not believe it is affecting my sleep now that I make sure not to roll onto my back (I use pillows at my back and do not usually move when I sleep). My O2 at my finger is almost always averaging 98% and I rarely have >0 times during the night that it dips below that average.
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Even sleep schedule changes seem to be really bad for longevity… and I suspect if anyone has good data on this, its probably Whoop (maker of heart rate monitors, etc.).
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@LVareilles I know some doctors won’t prescribe a benzo, but I haven’t had a problem finding one who will. Sleep is the best medicine there is. “Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care, sore labor’s bath, balm of hurt minds…”
I use all the OTC antihistamines, switching every week so that I don’t build up resistance. Plus, I don’t give a damn if someone thinks a benzo is the first step towards a heroin habit. They used to say the same thing about marijuana.
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The question is does said benzo impair sleep quality. I know things like ambien do but I’m not sure about Xanax. Also what’s your dose?
@LVareilles I take 1 mg of klohopin, plus the antihistamine. I think they complement each other. I always wake up rested, never groggy. There have been hundreds of studies that show benzos do not lead to cognitive impairment. The antihistamines, on the other hand, have been implicated in some studies, but not all. What’s your age? I’m 76 and haven’t noticed any problems. Besides, alzheimer’s disease strikes people who have never taken more than an aspirin.
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Interesting that benzos don’t lead to cognitive impairment. I just figured they probably did long term but couldn’t find any studies to show it. After having used 1mg Xanax to go to sleep roughly a thousand times, I haven’t noticed any negatives from it other than tolerance being built up.
People tend to freak out at the mention of them, but I think that panic is entirely related to the addictive element of it and the withdrawal effects that come with it. I was able to stop taking a 1mg bedtime dose cold turkey several times without any problems.
I’m 38 to answer your question. Truth is I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea so I’ll begin CPAP therapy tonight or tomorrow night, so I might not even need a pre bed benzo anyway if it works how I want it to. However, it’s good to know I probably didn’t damage myself too much from using them.
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@LVareilles The people who have problems with benzos are those who abuse them. I think you’ll be fine.
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I think so too based on my personal experience. Unfortunately, it is difficult to differentiate on the internet what the difference is between a small dose every once in a while versus abusive addictive use.
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@LVareilles If you read sites such as Reddit and Bluelight.org, which highlight comments from recreational users, you’ll see that 1 mg is a trivial amount. Some of these guys brag about how much they can snort, shoot, or swallow. I don’t think you’re in that category.
I remember when I was a teenager that some people would brag about how much they could drink, as if they won a prize or something for not passing out. I noticed the same thing when cocaine was the drug du jour. It didn’t matter if you got high and had a good time. What mattered more is if you could say you had a cocaine problem, implying you had the right connections and the money to pay for it.
There are sites, if you’re interested, that make a direct comparison between all the benzos, such as how much Xanax will give you the same effect as a certain amount of Atavan. Apparently some benzos are better for sleep and some for anxiety.
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@RapAdmin I wonder if shift work is behind the high suicide rate of cops and firefighters. It’s almost double the rate of suicide in the general population. More take their own lives than die in the line of duty.
Cops have a hard job, which is not appreciated. They’re called pigs, and not too long ago people were demanding that they be defunded. Worse, if they’re thinking suicide, they have the means to do it.
Firefighters aren’t reviled like the cops, and they don’t have ready access to guns. They do see a lot of things that regular citizens don’t, but I don’t think that’s why they kill themselves. Maybe the 24-hour shifts have something to do with it.
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Yes I agree. I still know a lot of people who brag about how much alcohol they drink. I live in South Florida so I’m around it a lot.
Any chance you have a link to that site that makes the comparisons between the benzo/sleep meds?
@LVareilles, there are many such sites. All you have to do is ask google what you asked me. But here’s one to get you started.
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Sleep is incredibly important for your testicles and testosterone levels. This video tells you why in the first 20 seconds.
Also Natural Killer cells levels are 70% lower in someone who only gets 4 hours of sleep vs 8 hours!
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