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!!