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  • This episode of DNews is proudly brought to you by Subaru.

  • More than six million adults in the United States take a sleeping pill at least once

  • a month before they go to bed at night, and that number is increasing. But do we even

  • know what they're doing to our brains?!

  • Hey there friends, Trace here for DNews. Sleeping pills, or more accurately, sleep aids - are

  • growing in popularity, but are they helping us? A study from the CDC called the National Health

  • and Nutrition Examination Survey - found sleep aid use increased in the first decade

  • of this century significantly, with more women than men using the sleep aids.

  • They come in a variety of types, but most common are "sedative hypnotics" which

  • means it's a pill which mimics being knocked out for a surgical procedure. Benzodiazepines

  • and Non-benzodiazepines are in this type, they're sometimes called Z-drugs, because

  • they all have Z's in them. Other than these, some people are prescribed antidepressants,

  • or powerful antihistamines because they make you drowsy.

  • Some of these aids succeed in knocking you out by depressing the central nervous system

  • function, others, like the antihistamine increase drowsiness. There's a newer drug class of

  • "Orexin receptor antagonists" which block a brain chemical which keeps you aware and

  • wakeful. Each of these drugs are great for knocking a human out, but being unconscious

  • isn't SLEEP.

  • Professor Matthew Walker from University of California Berkeley told Probably Science

  • if you want to "lose consciousness," these drugs are fine, but it's not natural sleep;

  • it's simulated sleep. Drugs alter the "sleep structure" or natural patterns and rhythms

  • of sleep. When you're sleeping, your brain is still active. It's organizing your days, making dreams

  • and cleaning itself. Most of the newest drugs will allow the brain into REM sleep, but they

  • DON'T allow the brain to go through the full natural sleep process, which means the brain

  • doesn't have a chance to clean up and process memories from the day before; cementing them

  • for future reference.

  • According to the National Institutes of Health, you should never take sleep aids more than

  • three times in a week, and make sure you address any other mental health issues like anxiety

  • or depression before ever taking a sleep aid. The problem is many of these pills can be habit-forming

  • - and accidental overdoses are possible - though at least they're usually not lethal.

  • A popular alternative to drugs is melatonin; a natural hormone which resets your circadian rhythm

  • clock. Everyone produces melatonin. They comes from the pineal gland in the middle

  • of the brain. When the sun drops, melatonin production ramp up for the next 12 hours - helping

  • you feel less aware and awake - usually starting around 9 PM. The problem with melatonin pills

  • is they're not regulated by the FDA - so the amount of the hormone in the pill isn't

  • standardized. If you take too much, your body may get used to higher levels than you naturally

  • produce. This isn't a drug to take willy-nilly, because it won't MAKE you sleep, it only HELPS

  • you to fall asleep. Scientific tests done with placebos and melatonin, by the way, found there is actually no difference between

  • the two.

  • For people who don't like pills, psychological or behavioral training can help encourage

  • sleep, and has the added benefit of encouraging FULL NATURAL sleep rather than sedation. The training

  • starts with things as simple as cutting caffeine six hours before bed, and turning off screens

  • three hours before, as well as using redshift software like Flux to simulate evening sun

  • on your computer screen. I use it, and it works well. I like it a lot.

  • Have you ever taken a sleeping pill? Do you find a bedtime routine helps you? I find simply SAYING

  • the word sleepy actually makes me more sleepy... is that weird? I guess it's kind of weird.

  • One place where you DON'T want to sleep is behind the wheel, so why not make your car

  • even MORE awesome! Check out Tekzilla's Patrick Norton who teamed up with Subaru to customize

  • 3 high-mileage Subaru cars, so their charity-minded owners can keep doin' their thing & helping

  • the world. Check out his handy work on the Second Chance Subaru series at revision3.com/subaru.

  • Share your sleepy time routines down below. Make sure you subscribe. And thanks for watching DNews, buddy. Sweet dreams!!

This episode of DNews is proudly brought to you by Subaru.

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