Trouble Sleeping is Driving Obesity

A small but troubling tale

As a psychiatrist, people talk to me about their sleep…often. They want something to help. You can even buy over-the-counter sleep aids! Usually, these are antihistamines. They must be safe! They are over the counter!

Define…safe?

Usually, we think of acute safety—will this drug kill me now? And even though enough antihistamines will plausibly kill you, the lethal dose is quite high. And add TikTok Challenges, and you get FDA warnings:

FDA is warning that taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine Benadryl (diphenhydramine) can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death. FDA is aware of news reports of teenagers ending up in emergency rooms or dying after participating in the “Benadryl Challenge” encouraged in videos posted on the social media application TikTok.

FDA is investigating these reports and conducting a review to determine if additional cases have been reported.

However, there are slower ways to die, and …