In our fast pace and high stress society sleep is a highly sought after luxury, and most people are willing to use medications to get it. There are a broad range of medications used to induce sleep. These include antihistamines, antidepressant, benzodiazepines (benzos), and benzodiazepine-like medications. Most of these are relatively safe. Some, like the benzos and benzo-like drugs, are typically designed to only be used short-term because they can lead to dependence and addiction.
Several of these medications are abused for their sedative effects. Combining them with other drugs can enhance their effects, as well as the effects of the other drugs. For this reason they are often abused with other illicit drugs, and can be very dangerous when abused in this way.
The study of sleep and sleep patterns has progressed rapidly and can help with many different causes of sleep problems. Sleep hygiene is a concept that has advanced rapidly and should be the core of seeking sleep normalization.
Brand Name:
- Lunesta
Brand Name:
- Sonata
Brand Name:
- Ambien
- Ambien CR
- Edluar
- Intermezzo
- Zolpimist
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Brand Name:
- Dalmane
Brand Name:
- Ativan
Brand Name:
- Restoril
Brand Name:
- Halcion
Brand Name:
- Butisol
Brand Name:
- Seconal
- Many over the counter and herbal formulations
Brand Name:
- Unisom Sleep Tabs
Brand Name:
- Mistral
- Atarax
Brand Name:
- Nytol
- Simply Sleep
- Sominex Maximum Strength
- Sominex Original
- Tranquil
- Unisom SleepGels
- Unisom SleepMelts
- Unisom SleepTabs
- Vicks ZzzQuil
- Oleptro
- Seroquel
- Quells
- Snoozeberries
- Suzie-Qs
- Q-Ball (combination of quetiapine with a speedball – which is the combination of heroin and cocaine)
Brand Name:
- Rozerem