Nearly nine million adults rely on the use of sleeping pills, according to the first government study of its kind released Thursday.
The study confirmed that among the nine million adults in the United States who take sleeping pills, majority are classified as white, female, educated, and 50 or older.
Experts believe that there are a million other adults in the United States who try other options like over-the-counter medicines or chamomile tea to fight sleepless nights.
"Not everyone is running out to get a prescription drug," said Russell Rosenberg, an Atlanta-based sleep researcher.
The study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewed 17,000 adults between 2005 and 2010.
Participants of the study were asked to bring the medications they were taking.
Results showed that four percent of adults said they had taken a prescription sleeping pill or sedative in the previous month.
The CDC calculated an increase of sleeping pills use from 3.3% in 2003 to 2006 to 4.3% in 2007 to 2010.
This result coincided with the market research in the United States as well as studies done in other countries.
"Sleep disorders overall are more prevalent than what they were," said Dr. Ana Krieger, medical director of New York's Weill Cornell Center for Sleep Medicine.
This could be due to a number of factors she further stated.
