It is not uncommon for over-the-counter
sleep aids and some
prescription sedative
medications to also have harmful effects
on cognition and the risk of dementia.
In 2008, Americans filled more than 56 million
prescriptions for
sleeping pillsv and spent more than $ 600 million
on over-the-counter
sleep aids.vi But anticholinergic
sleep medications in particular may be causing far more harm than good, especially long term, without providing any benefit at all.