Hypnotics

Drugs for insomnia, which are also known as sedatives, hypnotics, medications for sleep, sleeping aids or more colloquially “sleeping pills”, are some of the most commonly used medications, both by prescription and over-the-counter.

Insomnia

Insomnia affects up to 20% of the adult population and can be transient (<3 days), short term (3 to 30 days), or long term and chronic. Insomnia is also categorized as either primary or secondary. The drugs for insomnia are typically used for a short time only and act to decrease the latency to onset of sleep or prevent early awakening. They may improve the quality of sleep as assessed subjectively, but they usually do not usually increase sleep duration.

Non pharmacologic treatments

In many situations, insomnia need not be treated with medications; good sleep hygiene, adequate exercise, avoidance of alcohol and caffeine, and attention to the details of regular sleep habits can improve insomnia in many patients. Furthermore, while medications can be effective in the short term, they sometimes worsen or perpetuate insomnia when used for long periods.

Medications to treat insomnia

Several types of medications are used to treat insomnia or as sleeping aids, including barbiturates, antihistamines, various herbals, benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine receptor analogues. Currently, the benzodiazepine receptor analogues are the most frequently used drugs for insomnia and have perhaps the best record for safety and efficacy. The majority of sleeping aids have not been linked to liver injury, either in the form of clinically apparent acute liver injury or in causing transient serum enzyme elevations.

Drugs for insomnia are also referred to as sedatives, even tranquillizers.

Drug class for Hypnotics

Drug Class: Sedatives and Hypnotics

Subclasses:

Antihistamines

• Diphenhydramine
• Doxylamine
• Hydroxyzine

Barbiturates

• Amobarbital
• Butabarbital
• Phenobarbital
• Secobarbital

[[Benzodiazepines]]

• Diazepam
• Estazolam
• Flurazepam
• Quazepam
• Temazepam
• Triazolam

Benzodiazepine Receptor Agonists

• Eszopiclone
• Zaleplon
• Zolpidem

Herbals

• Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
• Hops (Humulus lupulus)
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)
• Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Melatonin and its Analogues

• Melatonin
• Ramelteon
• Tasimelteon

Miscellaneous Agents

• Buspirone
• Chloral hydrate
• Doxepin
• Meprobamate
• Oxybate (Narcolepsy Agent)
• Suvorexant

• Dailymed label info on Hypnotics
• FDA Hypnotics

Hypnotics Resources
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