Hooked on Cocaine and Sleeping Pills: What You Should Know

Cocaine is a stimulant drug that increases activity in the central nervous system and triggers euphoria. Many people use the drug to get high, to feel good, and for energy. One of the biggest dangers of cocaine is that it is highly addictive.

In the short term, cocaine can cause an overdose with symptoms that include aggression, anxiety, agitation, hallucinations, tremors, delirium, and seizures. Cocaine can also trigger acute psychosis and may be fatal. Over time and with regular cocaine use, you may develop heart conditions and cognitive deficits.

Prescription sleeping pills can be used responsibly and under the direction of a doctor. However, even with responsible use, sleep aids can cause dangerous side effects. Some of the most commonly used sleeping pills are Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta. These and others can cause:

• Dizziness and falls
• Headaches
• Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea
• Memory problems
• Sleepiness the day after use
• Sleepwalking and other behaviors while asleep, even driving

Many sleeping pills, including Ambien, are also habit-forming. Misuse can lead to an addiction. Long-term use of sleep aids has also been associated with difficulty learning, mental health disorders, memory problems, and recurring insomnia.

People who use cocaine tend to use sleeping pills because the stimulant makes it difficult to fall asleep. As a stimulant, cocaine raises heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. It stimulates the central nervous system, which is counter to good sleep.

It’s not just that cocaine is a stimulant, though. Researchers have found that cocaine, as well as other addictive drugs, affects genes related to sleep. These genes help regulate the body’s circadian clock, but they also impact dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, reward, and addiction.

These studies confirm that people addicted to cocaine take longer to fall asleep than other people. They also enjoy less deep sleep once they finally fall asleep. If you feel tired as a result of poor sleep, you might be even more inclined to turn to cocaine to perk up, which further fuels this harmful cycle.

In a study that involved only lab animals, researchers found that poor sleep encouraged addictive use of cocaine, and not just because of tiredness and fatigue. The mice in the study, when sleep-deprived, experienced a greater reward, or high, from cocaine.

Aside from perpetuating unhealthy sleep patterns, there are several dangers and risks of misusing both drugs. The most obvious is the development of a double addiction. Cocaine is highly addictive, but sleeping pills can also be habit-forming. By using both, you run the serious risk of a double addiction, which is more difficult to treat and manage than just one addiction.

There are not many studies on the interactions between sleeping pill medications and cocaine. Mixing these two types of drugs is less dangerous than other combinations. For instance, mixing cocaine with another stimulant would have an additive effect, increasing side effects and overdose risk. This is riskier than mixing a sedative like Ambien with a stimulant like cocaine.

Even so, a dangerous interaction is possible. One case study of a man addicted to both cocaine and Ambien proved this. He took up to 300 mg of Ambien per day with cocaine and became dangerously hyperactive. The researchers believe that the very high dose of Ambien actually had the opposite of its usual effect. Instead of acting like a sedative, it began to have a stimulating effect.

Another potential risk is that taking a sedative could lead to more cocaine use. If you take enough of the sleeping pill to come down from the high, it could push you to take another or a higher dose of cocaine.

The connection between cocaine and sleep difficulties highlights just how complex substance use disorders are. Drug misuse is clearly dangerous and causes obvious side effects, but it also affects the body and brain in many ways that are not as obvious but just as insidious.

A study of cocaine users found that many experience what is known as occult insomnia during early treatment phases. This means they feel like their sleep is improving when it is actually worsening. This and other unusual effects of the drug make it clear just how important it is to get professional, evidence-based treatment.

In a good cocaine treatment center, the staff understands these issues. In the specific case of cocaine users, they know how important it is to work on sleep and managing insomnia as part of an effective plan. If you don’t address sleep issues, they can reappear later, increasing the risk of a relapse.