New website promotes tackling insomnia without use of medication

A website createdby a Nova Scotia pharmacist aims to help Canadians wean themselves off sleeping pillsby teaching them how to treat insomnia without drugs.

David Gardner, also a professor in the department of psychiatry at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said the side effects associated with sleeping pills are costing the healthcare system money when there is an effective alternative.

Gardner has designed a website, called mysleepwell.ca, which aims to teach people how to use cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) instead of pills.

Speaking to CBCInformation Morning,he said the goal is to replace sleeping pills with a "very practical, pragmatic, easy-to-access therapy."

"The really neat thing about CBT-Iis that you can do it yourself," using readily-available apps, websites or books, said Gardner.

CBT-Iemploys several strategies, including:

• Staying up late and reducing the amount of time spent in bed.
• Employing a variety of relaxation techniques before going to sleep.
• Being careful about whento consume caffeine and alcohol and when to eat, exerciseor nap.
• Managing stressful thoughts while in bed.
• Leaving the bedroom if you don't fall asleep right away.

"It's the No. 1 treatment that you've never heard of," Gardner said."Our goal is to make it as accessible to people as sleeping pills are."

Camille Gagnon, assistant director of the Canadian Deprescribing Network, expressed enthusiasm about the initiative.

"To have these resources readily available for patients is a step in the right direction for this movement," she said. Her organization aims to help people wean themselves off unnecessary or unsafe medications.

The use of sleeping pills comes at a cost to society and the individual, Gardner said.

Links to anxiety, depression

Users can become unsteady and prone to falling, he said. To compensate, some people simply stop leaving their homes to socialize, he said, which can lead to anxiety and depression.

Memory impairment is also a factor, he said. In fact, it's "absolutely" possible that some seniors might think they're showing signs of dementiawhen really they're experiencing side effects from their sleeping pills, Gardner said.

When they stop using the pills, he said, "their memory and their thinking clears right up and they actually have a better quality of life."

There's also the risk of dependence.

The pills typically become less effective the more people use them, Gardner said.

When people stop using them entirely, they often go into withdrawal. One of the primary symptoms of withdrawal is insomnia, so it can be a "vicious cycle," Gardner said.

A summary of the existing research shows that 16 per cent of sleeping-pill users over the age of 65 in Nova Scotia are considered chronic users, Gardner said. The national average is 10 per cent.

Gardner estimated that Nova Scotiawould have 80 fewer hip fractures each year if the number of chronic sleeping-pill users in the province matched the nationalaverage. That's around $5 million in savings for the healthcare system, he said.

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