Current Topics in Sleep Disorders - Sleeping pill is linked to sleepwalking, eating and driving

Sleep Disorders Current Topics in Sleep Disorders

Sleeping pill is linked to sleepwalking, eating and driving

A spate of reports suggest that the most popular sleep medication may cause users to sleepwalk, raid the fridge and even get behind the wheel of a car-all while seemingly asleep and with no memory of it happening. Laura Liddicoat, a toxicologist for the State of Wisconsin, recently reported that the sleeping pill Ambien is one of the "top 20" drugs linked to impaired driving arrests. Earlier studies found a small number of Ambien users who unknowingly eat at night. Sanofi-Aventis, the company that makes Ambien, defends the safety of its drug and so far, such unusual side effects appear rare. Out of the millions who have taken prescription sleep aids, there were 207 sleepwalking reports filed with the FDA, according to the Washington Post, with a quarter of them linked to Ambien.