Sleeping Pills Can Be Deadly: The Importance of Natural Sleep Aids

Sleeping Pills Have a VERY Dark Side

The most serious risks of these drugs relate to their effects on memory and behavior. Because they act on brain chemistry, sleeping pills can cause memory impairment, nervousness, confusion, hallucinations, irritability, and aggressiveness. They have also been shown to increase feelings of depression, including suicidal thinking.

Daniel F. Kripke, MD, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, has worked for more than 30 years assessing the risk of sleeping pills, and his findings are stunning. For one thing, 18 population-based studies have shown a clear link between the use of sleeping pills and increased mortality risk.1

In one of Kripke’s studies, his team obtained medical records for 10,529 people prescribed hypnotic sleeping pills, and compared them to records for 23,676 matched patients never prescribed sleeping pills.2 Over an average of 2½ years, the death rate for those who did not use sleeping pills was 1.2 percent, versus 6.1 percent for those who did. That is a five-fold increase. Based on these findings, Kripke estimated that sleeping pills can be linked to 320,000—507,000 US deaths each year.

A more recent analysis looked specifically at the now more popular Z-drug category of sleeping pills that includes Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata. In the meta-analysis of nine studies with over 2 million subjects the researchers found a 60% higher risk of all-cause mortality among Z-drug users.

That is a huge potential effect. Clearly consumers should do everything possible to avoid the use of these drugs until their safety is fully determined. After all, it never makes sense to take a drug that has worse side effects than your symptoms.

Explanations for this link to increased mortality with Z-drug use include these medications can cause next-day sedation, impaired balance, and slower reaction times, increasing the risk of falls, fractures, and accidents. Z-drugs may also worsen sleep apnea or other breathing problems during sleep, contribute to cognitive impairment, and potentially increase cardiovascular and infection-related risks.

However, it may be as simple as these drugs do not  provide all of the restorative benefits of natural sleep. If sleep is impaired, it promotes poor health, low energy, and decreased mental and physical performance, and possibly early death.

The Difference with Drug-induced Sleep vs.  Natural Sleep 

While sleeping pills can help people fall asleep and stay asleep, it is not the same as natural sleep. Sleeping pills often alter the normal architecture of sleep by reducing deep sleep, suppressing REM sleep, or changing the natural progression through the various sleep stages. As a result, a person may sleep longer or more continuously yet still not experience the full restorative benefits of natural sleep, thereby robbing the body of sleep’s powerful healing effects.

A night of restorative, natural sleep recharges the energy within our cells, helps to remove harmful chemicals from the body—particularly in the brain, activates the antioxidant and repair processes in the body, and allows the immune system to function optimally. Obviously, quality natural, drug-free sleep is critical to health. 

Supporting Sleep with Natural Sleep Aids

In trying to improve sleep quality, many people smartly look to natural sleep aids. And there are several with excellent data showing a positive impact on supporting sleep quality. For example, magnesium supplementation at night. And that makes sense given how common low magnesium levels are in the typical diet. Simply taking 250 to 400 mg of magnesium 45 minutes or so before going to bed can be quite helpful in setting the stage for sleep and improving sleep quality, especially in elderly subject.4 Melatonin supplementation is another popular approach with scientific support.5,6 However, in my experience people that really struggle with getting quality sleep need a combination natural product.

My best recommendation for these people is my Ultimate Sleep formula. It contains five ingredients shown in human clinical trials to improve sleep quality and each ingredient is provided at the clinically verified dosage. These five ingredients were chosen for their ability to complement each other to work in an advanced synergistic manner to produce benefits beyond any single ingredient or the sum of its parts.  It is a multi-pathway approach to support calmness, sleep onset and maintenance, and deeper sleep stages.* Ultimate Sleep contains:

Relissa®, a phytosome form of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), an herb with a long history of use for promoting relaxation and easing nervous tension. The phytosome delivery system enhances bioavailability by binding the extract to phosphatidylcholine, allowing for greater absorption and better health-promoting effects compared to standard lemon balm extracts. Human clinical studies have shown Relissa® has shown an exceptional ability to support feelings of calm and reduced stress as well as promoting quality sleep.7

Venetron®, an Apocynum venetum leaf extract standardized for active flavonoids shown to support stress resilience, mood balance, relaxation, and a better night’s sleep in human clinical trials.8

Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) extract, which has been studied in human and preclinical research for its calming effects on the nervous system, supporting relaxation and improved sleep quality. Standardization for vitexin ensures consistent delivery of the plant’s key bioactive compounds associated with its calming and sleep-supportive effects.9

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Lp815, a novel probiotic that increases the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a compound with well-known calming effects. The amount of Lp815 in Ultimate Sleep can lead to the production of 100 to 500 mg of GABA to exert beneficial effects on supporting feelings of stress and improved sleep quality.

MicroActive® Melatonin , a sustained-release form of melatonin, so that it lasts throughout the night. Prolonged-release melatonin is well-known to support healthy sleep cycles and more efficient sleep.10

For best results, take 2 capsules 30-45 minutes before going to bed.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References:

1. Kripke DF. Hypnotic drug risks of mortality, infection, depression, and cancer: but lack of benefit. F1000Res. 2016 May 19;5:918.
2. Kripke DF, Langer RD, Kline LE. Hypnotics' association with mortality or cancer: a matched cohort study. BMJ Open. 2012;2(1):e000850.
3. Park JY, Park HJ, Ko HJ, Kim AS, Song JE, Hong HE. Z-Drug Use and All-Cause Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Cohort Studies. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2026 Jan 23;22:556191.
4. Boyle NB, Lawton C, Dye L. The effects of magnesium supplementation on subjective anxiety and stress-A systematic review. Nutrients. 2017; 9(5):429. 
5. Auld F, Maschauer EL, Morrison I, Skene DJ, Riha RL. Evidence for the efficacy of melatonin in the treatment of primary adult sleep disorders. Sleep Med Rev. 2017;34:10-22.
6. Li T, Jiang S, Han M, et al. Exogenous melatonin as a treatment for secondary sleep disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Neuroendocrinol. 2019;52:22-28.
   
7. Bano A, Hepsomali P, Rabbani F, et al. The possible "calming effect" of subchronic supplementation of a standardised phospholipid carrier-based Melissa officinalis L. extract in healthy adults with emotional distress and poor sleep conditions: results from a prospective, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Front Pharmacol. 2023 Oct 19;14:1250560. 
8. White KP, Hewlings S, Bryant C, et al. A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial to Assess the Effects of Apocynum venetum L. (A. venetum) Venetron® on Sleep and Stress in Those Expressing Feelings of Anxiety. Int J Transl Med 2025;5:23. 
9. Lee J, Jung HY, Lee SI, Choi JH, Kim SG. Effects of Passiflora incarnata Linnaeus on polysomnographic sleep parameters in subjects with insomnia disorder: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2020 Jan;35(1):29-35. 
10. Grant AD, Erfe MCB, Delebecque CJ, et al. GABA Probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Lp815 Improves Sleep, Anxiety and Increases Urinary GABA: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. medRxiv 2025.04.14.25325830.
11. Del Casale A, Arena JF, Giannetti F, et al. The use of prolonged-release melatonin in circadian medicine: a systematic review. Minerva Med. 2024 Apr;115(2):125-142.