A third of Germans suffer from insomnia. Many throw in prescription sleeping pills. Over-the-counter melatonin is also experiencing a mega boom. Now a new group of pills is coming onto the market – the “orexin inhibitors”. High time for an overview.
It would be the philosopher’s stone: a pill that would bring us blissful sleep without having to worry about the side effects. The worst we know: addiction. More than a million Germans are addicted to sleeping pills and tranquilizers. In order to get their stuff, quite a few even forge recipes. Lists are circulating on the internet of the lowest rated doctors willing to prescribe almost anything for a five star rating.
Orexin inhibitors – a whole new group of sleep aids
Since mid-November, however, sleep-stricken people have been able to get a prescription for a drug that, according to studies, does not cause addiction. Is a new era dawning for sleep medicine?