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Unfortunately, our culture has incorporated the notion of sleeping pills into everybody's daily lives. Many people automatically think of taking a pill if they do not get right to sleep or wake up during the night. All sleeping pills, both prescription and over-the-counter, contain sedatives that can actually disturb the natural sleep cycle of dreaming and deep sleep that is necessary for rest.

Will over-the-counter nighttime and sleeping products that I buy in the drugstore help me sleep?
I think that the sleeping pills that are available in the drugstore are worthless at best? Depending on their formulation, they may even worsen your bipolar illness. Stay away from them.

Will prescription sleeping pills help regulate my sleep cycle?
In bipolar disorder, the effects of prescription sleeping pills often diminish in a few weeks' time. Doses may have to be raised again and again, bringing about drug dependence and worsening insomnia. I have seen many people with bipolar disorder that were addicted to sleeping pills such as zolpidem (Ambien). In my opinion, sedatives do not solve problems in bipolar disorder and they may cause new problems of their own.

Will a glass of wine before bed help me feel drowsy?
Alcohol is the most common substance people take to help them sleep, but it is also the major cause of insomnia in this country. Most people can drink themselves to sleep if they try hard enough. However, alcohol upsets the dreaming sleep cycle and actually causes insomnia on subsequent days. A colleague once showed me brain wave recordings of sleeping individuals (called sleep EEGs) where evidence of alcohol's effects on sleep was visible weeks after the last drink was taken. You should also be aware that mixing sleeping pills with alcohol could be a deadly mistake.