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Many people rely on sleeping pills to get a good night's sleep. New research shows that sleeping pills actually raise your risk of dying, even in small doses.

Dr. Daniel Kripke is one of the leading researchers in the sleeping pill study. The study tracked over 10,000 people who were prescribed sleeping pills for 2 1/2 years.

"You know what sleeping pills do? They stop our brains from firing. Well, maybe that puts us to sleep or helps us forget how poorly we sleep, but if you're driving a car not having your brain cells isn't good,' Dr. Kripke explains.

The study says you are almost 5 times as likely to die if you pop the pills and at certain dosage 35% likelier to get cancer. What makes this different from other studies is this one looks at 8 specific sleeping pills including popular ones like Ambien.

"For these particular pills, I don't think there's any dose which is safe. For pills we didn't study, I can't say," Dr. Kripke says.

The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association made a statement saying that prescription medicines undergo thorough clinical trials regulated by the FDA and are FDA approved on the basis of their safety and effectiveness. With statistics like this, what are your options if sleeping pills are necessary for a good night's sleep?

"First reduce your time in bed to the amount you can actually sleep. Second, don't go to bed unless you're sleeping, going to fall asleep. Don't stay in bed unless you feel you're going to fall asleep," Dr. Kripke warns.

There have actually been 18 studies before this one that associated sleeping pills with a higher rate for mortality. The doctor did note that the study was based on observational data, and it is still possible other factors could explain the results.