Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

What's all the commotion about Ambien?

Details

  • Description

    Drs. Samadi and Siegel explain

  • Duration 3:50
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

For Your Health

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

You're one of the millions of Americans to take Ambien for a good night's sleep some doctors are raising awareness about its side effects just last week.

News correspondent Tom Brokaw made headlines when he was hospitalized for reportedly feeling light headed on sat after taking Ambien.

Doctor Siegel all the fuss about the pill there's people that rely on -- they don't get sleep otherwise what -- they do.

You know -- -- -- with Tom Brokaw really put attention on this and I'm really glad and -- point and we've just made it in the -- previous segment.

Do you need these pills.

What about your sleep hygiene what else might you be doing wrong are you sleeping in a dark room are you having caffeine wine alcohol before you go to sleep.

You know what I what disciplines are you using to get yourself to sleep on a regular basis these drugs are supposed to be used on a short term basis.

But any a lot of people and abusing them chronically I'm talking Ambien -- messed us -- -- And a lot of studies show that they don't even extend sleep more than about a half hour longer than you thought you were gonna get and it takes about the same amount of time to fall asleep whether you took these pills or not.

Now they work for some people -- they work for some people but.

We're talking sixty million prescriptions last year written for these that's a lot and they're called sedative hypnotic which means you can walk in your sleep.

You can get confused the next day you can wake up -- drive the car you can drive the car because there's a story about someone that was cooking don't know how they got to the stove.

This is exactly why.

That wasn't made that little.

Why is not -- why is a drug on the market that could allow you to literally what -- feud you've smoked.

In your sleep and -- you like the house on fire I mean it's.

Seems so dangerous to -- does it happen with the other sleeping medication had.

-- with with that group yes but I don't I'm not saying my -- I'm not saying mr.

should be on the market I'm saying doctors or prescribing them.

I'm saying that it's something you have to watch very carefully and it should be for short term news what do you recommend to patients that saints active Smart am exhaust that I can't get a good night's sleep.

Well I've had a lot of patient and asked -- can have their prescriptions for Ambien and this is another attack on Indian but.

I always hesitate taking that prescription pad and I'll talk to them a little bit to try to discourage them.

I would if you understand how it works and the fact that he works on the receptors in the brain the gap where we centers.

And slows down your entire central nervous system he would be really touching it as much unless your doctor or you feel it's absolutely necessary.

Look these medications they can cause some confusion and if you're going to take them.

Take -- early on so the effect of it wears off quite time you are how many hours suspect as they say if you get have a however many hours sleep you'll wake up feeling completely -- the -- -- -- -- your system for about three to four hours if you take -- at 10:11 o'clock hopefully by the next day.

You should be fine but there are a lot of things you can do before you take these medications such as melatonin.

Not -- which is it you know something that comes on serotonin is in natural hormone that you can take.

To sleep better you should try that first a lot of magnesium rich diets cashew knots.

They are helping you -- cure sleep.

And and and -- -- we tried -- You know we've talked about tryptophan you know Iran to Turkey -- you know.

Seafood -- have high tryptophan that can help with your sleep I would try those before you go to handed.

What went one thing about melatonin did you know that if you just a dark room or put a blindfold over your face you'll literally can increase your own melatonin levels and it.

Think that's saying we're not talking but you know -- a lot of things that mark mentioned is critical because I think that what we do is.

People go to the -- half an hour before -- to go -- -- to have their FaceBook and tweeters on their lap before.

The lights are -- so I think that fixing a lot of those issues should give you some help with your sleep -- I doctors on a -- that's a break.

Load More