Video: Medications and Sleep Quality
Do prescription drugs affect REM sleep? Watch video
More about sleep medications
- Include popular sleep medications Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata
- Target the same brain receptors as do benzodiazepines, but in a slightly more specific manner
- Are now recommended as the first-choice medications for short-term insomnia
- Include medications (Lunesta and Ambien CR) that have been studied for up to six months and are FDA-approved for long-term use in adults
- Usually cost more than their older benzodiazepine counterparts—up to $4 a pill—because most are not available as generics (exception: zolpidem, better known by its brand name, Ambien)
- Are safer than benzodiazepines for people with breathing problems, but can still aggravate sleep apnea and other conditions
- Have a lower risk for abuse or dependence than benzodiazepines
- Typically cause fewer side effects associated with older sleeping pills—such as daytime sleepiness, or the return of insomnia if you abruptly stop taking the drug—because they have a shorter half-life and don't stay in the body for as many hours
- Have been linked to nocturnal behaviors of which the pill taker has no memory—such as eating, walking, or even driving while asleep. Many doctors believe these drugs have been unfairly singled out (over the older benzodiazepines) because they're prescribed so often
- In a 1999 government-sponsored analysis, nonbenzodiazepines caused patients to sleep better and longer than those who took the placebos
- Was approved by the FDA in 2005 for use by insomniacs who have trouble falling asleep
- Mimics the actions of the brain's melatonin hormone, shutting down alert signals and helping the body transition into sleep
- Is approved for long-term use in adults
- Shows no evidence of abuse or tolerance in clinical studies
- Costs more than older benzodiazepines—about $3.50 a pill—and is not available as a generic
- Has not been studied in patients with sleep apnea or related breathing disorders
- Can cause side effects such as: headache, daytime sleepiness, and dizziness
- Has been associated with altered hormone levels, which may cause rare sexual side effects.
- In a 2006 government-sponsored analysis, Rozerem caused patients to fall asleep seven to 16 minutes faster than a placebo and increased total sleep time 11 to 19 minutes.
