Long-term Benzodiazepine Use Linked To Poor Sleep Quality In Older Adults

Long-term usage of benzodiazepine and related narcotics has been linked to poorer value slumber successful older adults pinch insomnia. While they are cheap, commonly prescribed and wide disposable successful Quebec, these narcotics are besides addictive: quitting acold turkey tin lead to superior withdrawal symptoms, including accrued consequence of falls, hospitalization and cognitive issues.

A caller study led by Concordia researchers published successful nan journal Sleep shows that usage of benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine receptor agonists (BZRA) tin besides impact encephalon rhythms during slumber that are important for representation and cognitive wellness successful adults aged betwixt 55 and 80.

"These narcotics don't moreover amended nan slumber of nan older adults utilizing them connected nan long-term," says Thanh Dang-Vu, a neurologist astatine nan Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal and professor successful the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology where he leads the Sleep, Cognition and Neuroimaging Laboratory.

"In summation to not being very safe, these narcotics besides make slumber value worse successful ways that whitethorn beryllium detrimental to encephalon health."

Disrupted slumber architecture

The researchers studied 101 older adults categorized into 3 groups: bully sleepers, individuals pinch insomnia and individuals pinch insomnia who chronically usage benzodiazepine/BZRA, defined arsenic utilizing them a minimum 3 times per week for much than 3 months.

Participants' slumber was measured utilizing an overnight polysomnography, which measured their wide slumber structure, brainwave activity and important oscillations including slow waves and slumber spindles, which are linked to representation and cognition.

"Compared to nan insomnia group, nan group utilizing these sleeping pills had a little magnitude of heavy slumber stages," says Loïc Barbaux, PhD 2025, nan study's lead author.

"These heavy slumber stages, which are characterized by slower encephalon waves, bosom complaint and breathing, are very important for representation consolidation."

They besides observed a alteration successful nan coupling betwixt encephalon oscillations among individuals utilizing benzodiazepine/BZRA. This is simply a neural process successful which encephalon rhythms synchronize pinch each different and facilitates accusation processing, including representation consolidation.

Dosage besides played a domiciled successful slumber alteration. The researchers recovered that users pinch higher dosages needed much clip to autumn dormant and took much clip to scope heavy slumber stage.

These findings person led america to reason that taking these kinds of sleeping pills worsens wide slumber architecture and encephalon oscillation activities. This whitethorn explicate erstwhile reports that these pills tin impair immoderate cognitive functions, which are already successful diminution owed to aging."

Loïc Barbaux, PhD 2025, nan study's lead author

Accessible alternatives are needed

Dang-Vu says benzodiazepine and BZRA whitethorn beryllium safely and efficaciously utilized to dainty worry and insomnia successful younger adults, but chiefly for short terms. He agrees pinch organizations including the American Geriatrics Society that recommends benzodiazepines beryllium avoided wholly by adults complete property 65.

For older adults who are chronic users, he recommends a gradual alteration of benzodiazepine depletion complete respective months, coupled pinch a cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program.

"If we trim depletion progressively, we tin debar what we telephone rebound insomnia, which is simply a return of insomnia symptoms but astatine much aggravated levels. A psychological involution tin thief execute a successful withdrawal from these narcotics and amended slumber quality.

"This investigation shows that it is clip for nan authorities and wellness attraction strategy to prioritize safer options for insomnia curen that are affordable and accessible."