For How Long Should You Take Sleeping Pills? Advice on When, and How, to Quit

Safety and efficacy
There don't seem to be any serious safety concerns in terms of taking sleep medication long-term: While most hypnotics are approved for short-term use only, many doctors prescribe them for longer. Among medications approved for long-term use (Ambien CR, Rozerem, and Lunesta), some have been studied for up to two years, with very little risk of abuse or tolerance.

Occasional side effects, such as daytime sleepiness, headache, and strange nocturnal behaviors, can occur at any time while taking these drugs, so it's important to weigh the benefits against the risks over any period of time.

For some patients, sleep meds will work indefinitely. For others—like Jo Dickison, 38, an executive assistant in Washington, D.C., who cycles regularly between Lunesta and Ambien—the drugs can start to lose effectiveness in as little as three weeks.

Studies show that cognitive-behavioral therapy and simple lifestyle changes are generally better than prescription medications at curing long-term insomnia. Spending a few sessions with a therapist can usually teach you techniques that you can refer back to—free of charge, without a prescription—for years to come.

"With drugs it can become a constant reliance," says Ralph Downey III, PhD, director of the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center in California. "We don't want people in the middle of the desert without pills, having nothing to fall back on."

There will always be patients, however, who don't want to devote the time to therapy or change their habits; for those people, continuous sleep medication may be their treatment of choice. Ultimately the choice should be yours, with the help of your doctor.