IndexThe environment in the mediaThe environment and sleep disordersThe environment and the stages of sleepEffectiveness of Zolpidem as a sleep aidConclusionToday's media offers many opinions when it comes to sleep. They touch on the quality of sleep, how to fall asleep more easily, and how sleep affects the body. Many of the claims expressed in the media are the opposite. A controversial issue that has become more apparent today is the use of medications to facilitate sleep. Zolpidem, which also goes by the brand name Ambien, is a commonly used sleep aid for adults. Zolpidem receives a lot of negative press due to potentially dangerous side effects. Under the influence of Zolpidem, people committed crimes, said things they did not remember, and drove without realizing it (Pressman, 2018). “Sleepwalking” may also occur after taking zolpidem. A recent incident involving television star Roseanna Barr and her malicious statements while taking zolpidem has given greater publicity to these concerns. However, zolpidem helps millions of people get the quality sleep each person needs to function properly during the day. The question remains; Is it safe to take zolpidem as a sleep aid? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe Environment in the Media In May 2018, Roseanne Barr, best known for her television sitcom “Roseanne,” used Twitter to post racial slurs regarding Valerie Jarrett, a former government official under Barack Obama. This behavior led to the cancellation of the “Roseanne” remake season at his expense. The apparent reason behind the tweet was the use of zolpidem. Barr also describes in several articles how he often does “strange things” while under the influence of zolpidem at night and has trouble remembering his activities (Zauzmer, 2018). Barr's statements caused zolpidem to be discussed in the media at an all-time high. Thousands of people with insomnia view zolpidem as an easy fix for their sleepless nights, but there are concerns that the negatives may outweigh the positives. Environment and Sleep Disorders Zolpidem is a hypnotic drug that acts selectively on neurotransmitters in the brain. If your brain wakes up while you are in a certain stage of sleep, particularly non-REM sleep, sleepwalking may occur. This is a common complaint about Zolpidem. In a study conducted by Suzuki, Hibino, Inoue, Mikami, Matsumoto, and Mikami (2016), they found that after switching to suvorexant, another drug to treat insomnia, sleepwalking stopped completely. Especially in older adults, sleepwalking can be dangerous or cause injury. Frey, Ortega, Wiseman, Farley, and Wright (2011) explored cognitive and motor functioning after treating participants with zolpidem while also accounting for sleep inertia. The study involved twelve older adults and thirteen younger adults and took place in a sleep laboratory. Baseline testing was initially performed on all subjects without the use of zolpidem. One group was then given 5 mg of zolpidem approximately 10 minutes before scheduled sleep, and one group was given a placebo. Two hours after administering the drug, they tested participants on cognitive function and walking stability; this method arises when zolpidem users generally wake up and may experience complications. Once awakened, they were asked to walk in tandem along a balance beam. It was considered a failure if the participant stepped off the a-beamcause of an imbalance. They also completed the Stroop Color Word tasks for cognitive measurement. After the study, they concluded that zolpidem significantly impaired cognitive and motor function when seven of twelve adults stepped off the beam, and all participants performed significantly worse on the cognitive test. However, zolpidem improved the ability to fall asleep as the placebo group remained awake two hours after the expected sleep time. In the conclusion, the authors explained: "Because impaired tandem walking predicts falls and hip fractures, and because cognitive impairment has important safety implications, the use of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic drugs may have major consequences for health and safety than previously recognized,” Frey et al. . (2011) Ambien and the Stages of Sleep Arbon, Malgorzata, and Dijk (2015) compared how melatonin, temazepam (Restoril), and zolpidem (Ambien) target GABA and MT1/MT2 receptors. The receptors are what control brain activity and the natural secretion of melatonin during the sleep cycle. Before the study, researchers knew that zolpidem targeted specific GABA receptors while melatonin supplements targeted MT1 and MT2 receptors. What they didn't know was how zolpidem affected slow wave activity (SWA) during nocturnal non-rapid eye movement (NREM). They used sleep EEGs measured in hertz and polysomnography to measure the change in sleep stages in the sixteen participants. Slow wave sleep is extremely important for cognitive functioning, primarily for memory consolidation. It is often referred to as sleep-dependent memory processing. Ultimately, they found that zolpidem significantly reduced SWA. Because slow-wave sleep is so important, reducing slow-wave sleep, or deep sleep, for several nights could have harmful effects on the brain, particularly memory (Roth, 2009). Effectiveness of Zolpidem as a Sleep Aid Although zolpidem proves dangerous for some it has become a phenomenon in the sleep world. In a large-scale study by Perlis, McCall, Krystal, and Walsh (2004) evaluated the impact zolpidem has on people with insomnia who meet DSM-IV criteria for insomnia. They had an experimental group and a placebo group. Over the course of twelve weeks, participants recorded medication use and sleep duration in sleep diaries. Overall, participants taking zolpidem experienced a nearly 50% decrease in sleep latency, number of awakenings, and time awake during the night. They also experienced a 27% increase in total sleep time. All participants improved overall sleep quality. However, a case study by Keuroghlian, Barry, and Weiss (2012) based on a physician who participated in shift work, highlighted some of the concerns regarding the use of zolpidem. The doctor, a 34-year-old male, had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He was a resident at a teaching hospital and often worked shifts of 30 hours at a time. He used zolpidem because of sleep-wake disorders. After one shift, the doctor had a grand mal seizure. Because the doctor had a history of alcohol use, psychiatrists noted that alcohol and zolpidem together cause additive effects and concluded that the seizure was due to withdrawal of zolpidem. Most adults consume alcoholic beverages periodically, and adults are the primary users of zolpidem. Many of the “bad press” incidents associated with zolpidem may be due to these additive effects. Ambien alone.