Why Your Sleep Pills Are Speeding Up Aging - AI Podcast

Story at-a-glance Both insomnia and sleep medication use independently increase disability risk in older adults, affecting basic activities like dressing, bathing and walking Research tracking 6,722 older adults found that even mild increases in sleep troubles predicted greater physical disability in the following year Using sleep medications worsened disability outcomes rather than improving them, with the combination of insomnia plus medication causing the steepest decline Complete darkness during sleep is important, as even small amounts of light disrupt melatonin production and interfere with your body's natural sleep signals Nondrug approaches like eliminating electromagnetic field (EMF) sources, avoiding blue light after sunset and regular daytime movement provide safer alternatives to sleep medications