Do Medicines Affect Sleep Quality? Why Doctors Aren't Sure

Doctors still don't fully understand the true purpose of sleep, says David Schulman, MD, director of the Emory Sleep Disorders Laboratory in Atlanta. That means it's hard to tell whether sleep that's brought on by prescription medications—which slow down the central nervous system—is any better or worse than natural slumber.

REM sleep, which is associated with learning and dreams, seems to be suppressed with some sleeping pills. However, people who take medication correctly do tend to wake up feeling refreshed—and any kind of sleep, drug-induced or not, is better than no sleep at all. Dr. Schulman worries that people who take sleep medications may become tolerant over time and need larger and larger doses; that's why he typically prescribes them only for short periods of time.

Watch Dr. Schulman explain why America is sleep deprived in the first place, and what we can do about it. For more information on prescription medication, read Should You Take Sleeping Pills?