Ten years ago, 1.6% of Norwegian young people between the ages of 15 and 19 used prescription sleeping pills. Last year, the number had more than doubled.
A total of 3.7% of young people now use prescription pills received from a doctor to sleep better, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) writes. Some sleeping pills became non-prescription on January 1, 2020.
There is no simple explanation for the increase, but sleep researcher Børge Sivertsen at the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) points to two possible explanations.
“There has probably been greater openness about sleep problems. More are people are being treated for it. But the threshold for prescribing sleeping pills has probably also become a little lower,” Sivertsen said.
“Problematic”
He added that the FHI is not entirely positive that the use of sleeping pills in this age group is increasing. It is an age where sleep changes a lot.
“It is problematic that this age group is medicated on such a large scale,” he noted.
He also believes that many sleeping pills can be addictive.
“On most packages, it is noted that use over multiple weeks should be avoided,” the researcher warned.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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