Daniel F. Kripke > Quotes

“people who take sleeping pills such as eszopiclone, zaleplon, and zolpidem have about a 44% higher risk of developing infections such as sinusitis, pharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infections, influenza, herpes, and so forth.[35] There has been essentially no discussion of this risk in the medical literature, but it is statistically extremely convincing, based on studies which the manufacturers submitted to the FDA and some of their published controlled trials.”
― Daniel F. Kripke, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills: Mortality & Cancer Risks, Which Pills to Avoid & Better Alternatives, and Brighten Your Life: How Bright Light Therapy Helps with Low Mood, Sleep Problems & Jet Lag

“Testing intermittent use (3 times a week), a recent study showed a similar result with zolpidem (Ambien).  After several weeks of use, those taking this sleeping pill were sleeping better when they took the drug but then worse when they skipped it.[26] Overall, after several weeks of use, their sleep was averaging no better than a group taking inactive placebo.”
― Daniel F. Kripke, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills: Mortality & Cancer Risks, Which Pills to Avoid & Better Alternatives, and Brighten Your Life: How Bright Light Therapy Helps with Low Mood, Sleep Problems & Jet Lag

“One mechanism is that zolpidem (and probably other sleeping pills) relax the stomach sphincter and cause gastro-esophageal regurgitation. The acid irritation may lead to infection. Incidentally, acid regurgitation may also lead to esophageal cancer, which is one of the cancers most greatly increased among sleeping pill users. At”
― Daniel F. Kripke, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills: Mortality & Cancer Risks, Which Pills to Avoid & Better Alternatives, and Brighten Your Life: How Bright Light Therapy Helps with Low Mood, Sleep Problems & Jet Lag

“Another side effect of sleeping pills is depression. The sleeping pill industry would like you to believe that insomnia leads to depression, implying that sleeping pills might prevent depression. It isn’t so. The controlled trials of zaleplon, zolpidem, eszopiclone, and ramelteon mentioned in the FDA NDA documents show a higher rate of developing depression among those given the sleeping pills as compared to those given placebo.”
― Daniel F. Kripke, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills: Mortality & Cancer Risks, Which Pills to Avoid & Better Alternatives, and Brighten Your Life: How Bright Light Therapy Helps with Low Mood, Sleep Problems & Jet Lag

“These drugs also broke chromosomes, which is a well-known specific chemical mechanism by which drugs cause cancer.”
― Daniel F. Kripke, The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills: Mortality & Cancer Risks, Which Pills to Avoid & Better Alternatives, and Brighten Your Life: How Bright Light Therapy Helps with Low Mood, Sleep Problems & Jet Lag