Prescription Sleep Aids
The Mayo Clinic Health Letter for January 2008 has a good summary of prescription drugs to aid sleep. Mayo makes the distinction between finding it difficult to get off to sleep as contrasted with the problem of staying asleep (sleep-maintenance insomnia). Older adults more commonly have sleep-maintenance insomnia.
The Health Letter has a useful summary of drugs used for helping getting off to sleep and for those that help one stay asleep.
The newest class of sleep drug are the melatonin agonists. These are related to the natural hormone melatonin. Rozerem is the brand name and it seems somewhat weak in its affect but not habit forming.
Another group of sleep aids currently being heavily promoted are from the class called non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. This includes brands such as Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta and Sonata. It appears that older adults can take these fairly well with little residual drowsiness. However Mayo say that there are some reports of amnesia after taking them. That said this new class of non-benzodiazepine hypnotics is much better than their predecessors, the benzodiazepine which have been used for the last 40 years.
Sonata (one of the non-benzodiazepine hypnotics) is short acting and wears off quickly.
Mayo is fairly dismissive about non-prescription medication sleep aids such as Benadryl, Somine and Unisom saying they have minimal effectiveness.
The Mayo summary is:
Difficulty sleeping can reach an extreme in sleep apnea. This topic is worthy of a blog all on its own.
The Health Letter has a useful summary of drugs used for helping getting off to sleep and for those that help one stay asleep.
The newest class of sleep drug are the melatonin agonists. These are related to the natural hormone melatonin. Rozerem is the brand name and it seems somewhat weak in its affect but not habit forming.
Another group of sleep aids currently being heavily promoted are from the class called non-benzodiazepine hypnotics. This includes brands such as Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta and Sonata. It appears that older adults can take these fairly well with little residual drowsiness. However Mayo say that there are some reports of amnesia after taking them. That said this new class of non-benzodiazepine hypnotics is much better than their predecessors, the benzodiazepine which have been used for the last 40 years.
Sonata (one of the non-benzodiazepine hypnotics) is short acting and wears off quickly.
Mayo is fairly dismissive about non-prescription medication sleep aids such as Benadryl, Somine and Unisom saying they have minimal effectiveness.
The Mayo summary is:
- Ambien - Useful for initiating sleep, sleep onset 7 to 27 minutes, low risk for dependency
- Ambien CR - Useful for initiating sleep, sleep onset 30 minutes, more chance of morning drowsiness than with Ambien
- Lunesta - Good for both initiating sleep and sleep maintence, sleep onset 10 minutes, low risk dependency.
- Sonata - Good for night awakening and for sleep initiation, sleep onset 30 minutes, short acting so you can take it middle of night and be OK in morning.
Difficulty sleeping can reach an extreme in sleep apnea. This topic is worthy of a blog all on its own.
Labels: ambien, insomnia, lunesta, sleep, sleep apnea, sonata
posted by GarethPhillips at
9:16 AM
2 Comments:
There are a lot of people who are nervous to use prescription sleep aids because of the side effects that they cause and there are a lot of chances that one can get addicted to them. That is the reason a lot of people suffering from sleeplessness prefer non prescription sleep aids to get rid of the disorder.
Rest 10 hours or more every night and you will enjoy huge benefits
on your psychological and physical performance and, needlessly to say,
you'll feel great!" - This is absolutely true. Rest is natural way
of charging our battery power and enhancing our human anatomy's protect
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