Why are doctors prescribing less and less diazepam? An article to understand the watershed between new and old sleeping pills!
1. Why has diazepam, once a " mainstay drug " , gradually faded from prescription lists?
Diazepam is a typical benzodiazepine sleeping pill that was once widely used around the world. It has a rapid sedative effect, is low-cost, and is effective in relieving anxiety and insomnia in the short term.
However, in recent years, doctors in Japan, Europe, the United States and China have significantly reduced the number of prescriptions for this type of drug. The root cause is that traditional sleeping pills such as diazepam have many long-term side effects that cannot be ignored .
2.What are the problems with traditional sleeping pills represented by diazepam?
|
question |
illustrate |
|
High risk of addiction |
Directly acting on the GABA-A system, continuous use can easily lead to dependence and tolerance ( Lader, 2011 ) |
|
Difficulty stopping medication |
Rebound insomnia and increased anxiety are likely to occur after drug withdrawal |
|
Affects brain function |
Long-term users show decreased performance in cognition, memory, and attention ( Billioti de Gage et al., 2014 ) |
|
Disruption of sleep structure |
Although you can "fall asleep", the deep sleep and REM stages are compressed, and the sleep quality is poor |
|
Morning hangover feeling |
The drug effect lasts until the next day, causing dizziness, slow reaction, and even increasing the risk of falls in the elderly |
📌 With the consensus that " insomnia is a chronic disease " , doctors are paying more and more attention to the long-term safety of drugs and their impact on quality of life .
3.Why are doctors more willing to recommend new sleeping aids?
The new generation of sleeping aids such as suovoluoxant, lebrexant and darilexant are orexin receptor antagonists ( ORAs ) . They gently " turn off " the wakefulness system by blocking the OX1R/OX2R receptors in the brain rather than forcibly " suppressing " brain neural activity.
✅ Compared with traditional sleeping pills, they have the following advantages:
|
Comparison Items |
Diazepam and other traditional medicines |
New generation ORAs |
|
Dependencies |
Addiction |
No addiction risk |
|
Post-drug withdrawal reactions |
Insomnia rebound |
Sleep stability after drug withdrawal ( Sun et al., 2021 ) |
|
Sleep structure |
Disruption of REM and deep sleep |
Does not affect the natural rhythm |
|
Morning state |
Prone to hangovers |
The next day, you will feel refreshed and natural |
|
Suitable for long-term use |
Not recommended |
Safe for long-term use |
4. Three representative new drugs, recommended by doctors
🟦 Suvorex
• Suitable for those who wake up easily at night and have interrupted sleep
• Improve sleep continuity
• Studies have shown that there is no withdrawal reaction after discontinuation of the drug ( Sun et al., 2021 )
🟩 Leibersson
• Fast-acting, suitable for those who have trouble falling asleep
• No effect on cognition, no daytime sleepiness ( Ueno et al., 2022 )
🟧 Dale Raisin
• Suitable for people with shallow sleep and poor recovery
• Optimize deep sleep quality and feel better the next day ( Dauvilliers et al., 2022 )
5. Doctors’ ideas about prescribing medicine have changed, and patients should also use medicine more scientifically
• Insomnia is not just a matter of taking medicine , but requires long-term management
• Traditional sleeping pills are suitable for short-term, acute phase control , but not for long-term use
• The new generation of drugs is more suitable for patients with chronic insomnia to regulate rhythm and repair structure
📌 Doctors are more inclined to prescribe new sleeping aids that can be used for a long time, are non-addictive, and are highly safe , also based on the expectation that patients will " sleep well for a long time. "
6. Conclusion: Medicine is being updated, and your sleep aids should also be upgraded
Diazepam, once the " gold standard " for sleep aids, is slowly being replaced by gentler, more scientific alternatives. Suvorexant, Lebrexant and Darilexant are not only effective, but more importantly, they represent a treatment concept of " not over-intervention but helping recovery. "
📌 If you are still worried about " medication addiction " or " not being able to get up in the morning " , maybe you should learn about doctors' new options.
🛒Leborexant 2.5mg 100 tablets / box
🛒Lebrexan 5mg 100 tablets / box
🛒Leborexant 10mg 100 tablets / box
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