Sleep Meds on the Rise Among Moms

We’ve all experienced it. You wake up at some ungodly hour with your mind racing. Who is doing pick-up tomorrow after karate? Why, oh WHY did I sign up to help out at the book fair? Oh crap, I forgot to buy diapers. And soon 3 am turns into 5 am and you have completely given up trying to get back to sleep.

For some, this happens only occasionally. But for others, it’s a nightly occurrence, and many women are attempting to battle sleeplessness with sleep medication (such as Ambien, Lunesta and melatonin), or as The New York Times refers to it in a recent article, “Mother’s Little Helper.”

The Times reports:

“One of the cruel jokes of motherhood is that the sleeplessness of pregnancy, followed by the sleeplessness generated by an infant (a period in which a staggering — truly — 84 percent of women experience insomnia), is not followed by a makeup period of rest. It is merely the setup for what can become a permanent modus operandi. ...”

Modus operandi indeed. According to a 2007 poll by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly three in 10 women admit to using a sleep aid at least a few nights a week.

I don’t personally use sleep medication (believe me, I did enough recreational drugs during my youth), but I have been guilty of indulging in a glass of wine (or two) before bedtime to unwind.

What about you other moms out there?