In its latest bid to track prescription drug use, Consumer Reports conducted a survey last spring of 1,466 Americans who took sleeping pills and found that nearly half have difficulties. Consquently, many are turning to prescription meds with what CR calls “frightening results.” Here they are…

Almost one in five Americans took prescription or over-the-counter medicines at least once a week to help them sleep better. Although sleep meds are usually recommended for no more than two weeks or so, 14 percent of the respondents took some type of pill on at least eight of the past 30 nights, and 5 percent turned to prescription drugs every night of the month.

Side effects occurred in 63 percent of those who took sleep meds; 24 percent became dependent on the med they used, and 21 percent indicated that repeated use reduced the drug’s effectiveness. The most common side effect was daytime drowsiness, noted by more than a third of respondents.

In a parallel survey of 1,093 insomniacs, or those with chronic sleep loss, 7 percent of respondents who took a sleeping pill during the previous month reported bizarre and dangerous behavior such as sleepwalking, sleep driving, and sleep eating. Last year, you may recall, the FDA began requiring drugmakers to include strongly worded warnings about such possible side effects.

The antidote? CR suggests sound machines - you know, those gadgets that emanate the sound of waterfalls, breezes or chirping birds. The advantage? No prescriptions needed and no side effects.