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Have you heard of sleep-driving? Sleep and driving are two words that we should never hear together, yet if you ask a truck driver about it, they'll know exactly what you're talking about.
Anything else, you start to get an exponential effect here. so you're fine when you're awake, but when you go to sleep, eventually, your drive to breathe may be impaired and that can cause real problems. people on ambien, you hear about sleep driving, people sleep texting. you sleep text, you sleep text me all the time. i can only imagine you were under ambien at the time. >> that's not true. >> it can have these sort of strange effects. that's part of the reason the fda and other people are looking into it. >> i'll lay off the wine and the ambien. sanjay, thank you very much. >> you got it. ...
>> it doesn't come without risk. we talk about ambien or i take it after a glass on wine, you see on no uncertain terms that's a big mistake. >> i was pretty hard on you, wasn't i? >> i still do it. >> you still do it? >> every now and then. >> only because i care, anderson. the way these drugs work is depress your central nervous system, slow it down. by itself it can be effective as a sleep aid. once you layer other things, in this case alcohol or something else, you get an ex pa neshl effect here. when you go to sleep, eventually, your drive to breathe may be impaired and can cause real pro...
Reactions, which can include hallucinations, paranoia, and confusion, sent 19,000 people to ers in 2010, a 220% increase from 2005, and two-thirds of them were women. why more women than men? >> i think we know that women clear the drug from their system more slowly than men. and in fact the fda recommended we use a lower dose in women. >> reporter: this sleeping pill has been in the news for a very dangerous side effect. >> i hit something with your car. >> reporter: sleep driving. i tried a driving simulator on ambien and found out how scary this is. 30 minutes after taking the drug. am i on...
Now it turns out, even those who wait the recommended eight hours after taking ambien and its generic versions may still be too impaired to drive. it's especially true for women, who for some unknown reason do not clear the medicine as quickly. new studies show that after taking a regular ten milligram ambien or its generic, 15% of women will still be impaired eight hours later. and after taking the extended released version, a whopping 33% won't be alert enough for things like driving. so the fda says the new recommended dose for women, half of what it is now. but first check with your doctor...