I understand the inefficient sleep all too well. While it's true meds can disrupt one's sleep, I've been on all of mine for quite some time, and none of them have ever had somatic side effects. I was on a Benzo for a long time that did interfere with my REM sleep I believe, but at the time getting the anxiety under control was at the top of the list.

Now that I'm not on a Benzo, nor take any sleep meds, my P-doc stayed on me to get my sleep problem checked out. Lo and behold, I have Sleep Apnea. My sleep dr is amazingly knowledgable, and explained that when doctors prescribe sleep meds like Ambien to ppl, they really do them a disservice in two ways: One, the sleep med, paradoxically, keeps the brain from going into all of its rhythms/cycles, hence why ppl get addicted because they feel they need more and more to get proper sleep. Two, since the meds aren't actually a solution, the patients go around with some kind of sleep problem/disorder that legitimately needs looking at. I am eternally grateful that when I asked my P-doc if I needed a sleep med (my sleep ranged from insomnia to sleeping 3 hours a night to sleeping 12+ hours and feeling as exhausted as before hitting the bed) he bluntly said, "No."

I'm not saying you have a sleep disorder, obviously. I'm just sharing my experience. My sleep dr also told me that Benzos, being a "relaxer" of sorts, also relax the throat muscles, making it hard for some ppl to get adequate oxygen, etc.

I hope some of this helps someone; I knew of noone that had Sleep Apnea, and my P-doc, T and myself were the ONLY ones who thought something legitimately was wrong; even my bf--who has always supported everything--said, "I don't think you're going to find the answers you're looking for."

Enough for now.