As a reader of Daily Health News, you already know that the very popular drugs Valium, Xanax, Klonopin and other benzodiazepines—taken by millions to help relieve anxiety and/or insomnia—raise your risk of getting into a car accident…and that these drugs have also been implicated in dangerous falls among older adults.
Well, there’s yet another hidden danger to taking such drugs, a new French study suggests.
And it’s a serious risk—so serious that it may make you think twice about taking these sorts of pills.
Below, check out the study’s staggering findings, as well as some helpful ways to get off these dangerous drugs and find natural ways to treat your sleep and/or anxiety problems.
LOSING YOUR MIND
The danger: People in the study who took benzodiazepines were 50% more likely to develop dementia within 15 years than those who did not take these drugs. And these findings held true even when researchers accounted for known dementia risk factors such as age, gender and diabetes.
Now, it’s possible that the participants’ underlying sleep and/or anxiety problems played a role in the results—the study showed only an association between the drugs and dementia, not cause and effect. But still, a potential increased risk for dementia of 50% would certainly get my attention if I were using one of these drugs.
EASE YOUR WORRIES AND SLEEP SOUNDLY
There are many benzodiazepine drugs—some others besides Valium, Xanax and Klonopin are Ativan, Halcion and Dalmane. If you (or a loved one) take any such drug and you are concerned about the possible dementia link, consider this advice from the following Bottom Line articles on how to relieve anxiety and/or insomnia naturally—without using benzodiazepines.
To help insomnia…
- Read about supplements that may provide relief by clicking here.
- Learn about cognitive behavioral therapy, a different—but still natural—approach to getting ZZZs by clicking here.
To help anxiety…
- You might think that deep breathing may help relieve anxiety, but this article explains why it won’t—and that shallow breathing may actually help you more.
- And if you’re interested in reading about benzodiazepines and their association with car accidents, click here. For more information on the drugs and their link to dangerous falls among older adults, click here.