Sleeping Pill Ambien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sleeping Pill Ambien - Essay Example The jobs, relationships, productivity, health and safety are all put at risk. And lack of sleep due to sleep loss or sleep disorders is taking a serious toll globally. There are many who experience problems with sleep and often depend on sleeping pills. Sleeping pills belong to a larger group of substances known as the sedative-hypnotics, which slow down or "sedate" the central nervous system that includes the brain, and spinal cord. This affects thinking, feeling, and body movement and function (AADAC, 2003). Sleeping pills are not a new concept. Herbal potions and the opiate laudanum were used centuries ago to induce sleep. Barbiturates were introduced by the early 1900s. Later in 60s benzodiazepines were introduced. And in 90s a safer class of drugs for sleeplessness known as nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics came into the market (Mayo clinic staff 2007). Sleeping pills act by binding with protein molecules called GABA receptors on the surface of nerve cells. The same protein receptor molecules bind at the same time with a neurotransmitter chemical called GABA. Barbiturates and other sleeping pills accentuate the action of GABA which causes the receptor molecule to allow the negatively charged chloride ions to enter the nerve cells. The chloride ions then make the inside the nerve cell more negatively polarized, which in turn, makes the nerve cells less active. In the 1970's, a new group of sleeping pills became popular, molecules which chemically are named benzodiazepines. The main advantage of benzodiazepines is that they are less likely to produce acute overdose deaths than barbiturates (Kripke 2006). Chemical Structure of Zolpidem (Ambien) Source: Wikipedia Zolpidem (Ambien): Mechanism of action Zolpidem (Ambien) is used for the short-term treatment of insomnia. Zolpidem is a prescription short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic that potentiates gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, by binding to benzodiazepine type 1 (BZ1) receptors. However, zolpidem binds more exclusively to some of the several kinds of benzodiazepine receptors, and as a result it causes less anti-anxiety effect, less muscle weakness and less anti-epileptic effect than most benzodiazepines. It has been claimed that zolpidem distorts EEG sleep patterns less than other hypnotics and that it produces