The risks of giving older people sleeping pills and other sedatives outweigh the benefits, researchers have said. 

    Many people over the age of 60 suffer from insomnia, which has severe effects on quality of life. 

    But an analysis of research published in the British Medical Journal suggests that giving them sleeping pills may actually do more harm than good. 

    Between 5 per cent and 33 per cent of older people in the UK and North America are prescribed sleeping pills such as benzodiazepine. 

    Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada, looked at 24 studies carried out between 1966 and 2003 involving 2,417 people, considering the effects of sedatives and sleeping pills. 

    They concluded that the adverse effects among older people taking sedatives, including dizziness, loss of balance, falls and disorientation - were significant enough to make them think non-drug treatments could be a better way of tackling insomnia. 

     The team found that effects such as dizziness or loss of balance - psychomotor-type side-effects - were reported in 13 of the studies it looked at. 

    The researchers said seven of the 59 psychomotor effects that were reported in these studies were serious - six falls and one car crash. 

    They did say there were many potential benefits for people taking sedatives, such as more uninterrupted sleep, ease of getting to sleep and the amount of time spent sleeping. 

    But they concluded there were indications that older patients are more than twice as likely to experience an adverse event taking drugs to help them sleep as they are to gain a better quality of sleep. 

    "Although the improvements in sleep variables obtained from prescription sedative hypnotics are statistically significant, the effect size is small, and the clinical benefits may be modest at best," the researchers said. 

    "The added risk of an adverse event may not justify these benefits, particularly in a high risk elderly population." 

    Non-drug therapies, such as cognitive behaviour therapy, have been found to be useful in helping older people deal with insomnia, they said. 

    "Because fewer risks are associated with behavioural therapies, they may be a viable treatment alternative in a healthy elderly population with no cognitive impairment," the researchers added. 

   很多60歲sui以yi上shang的de老lao年nian人ren都dou受shou到dao了le失shi眠mian症zheng的de困kun擾rao，這zhe嚴yan重zhong影ying響xiang到dao了le他ta們men的de生sheng活huo質zhi量liang。因yin此ci
，這zhe些xie老lao人ren選xuan擇ze服fu用yong安an眠mian藥yao片pian來lai幫bang助zhu他ta們men獲huo得de更geng好hao的de睡shui眠mian。但dan是shi
，日ri前qian發fa表biao在zai《英國醫學雜誌》上的一份分析文章卻指出，讓這些老人服用安眠藥物實際上是弊大於利。 

    據《每日郵報》11月11日報道，加拿大多倫多毒癮及精神健康中心的工作人員對1966年至2003年間實施的24項相關研究進行了分析
，研究共涉及2417人，旨在判斷鎮靜劑及安眠藥片的療效。 

    分析結果顯示
，老年人服用鎮靜劑的不良後果包括頭昏眼花、身體失去平衡、跌倒及喪失知覺等。而這足以讓他們考慮采取一種更好的不用吃藥的方法來對抗失眠。研究小組發現
，24項研究中的13項都提到了服藥後出現諸如頭昏眼花、喪失知覺等副作用。 

    研究人員稱，他們並不否認人們服用鎮靜劑會有很多潛在的好處，如睡眠不易被打擾、容rong易yi入ru睡shui以yi及ji睡shui眠mian時shi間jian充chong分fen等deng。但dan他ta們men同tong時shi指zhi出chu，老lao年nian人ren卻que並bing不bu適shi宜yi服fu用yong此ci類lei藥yao物wu，他ta們men更geng容rong易yi受shou到dao藥yao物wu副fu作zuo用yong的de影ying響xiang。相xiang比bi較jiao起qi來lai，其qi它ta一yi些xie不bu用yong服fu藥yao的de方fang法fa，如ru認ren知zhi行xing為wei療liao法fa則ze更geng適shi合he於yu老lao年nian人ren用yong來lai對dui抗kang失shi眠mian症zheng。