Zolpidem
Zolpidem is a medication used to treat short-term insomnia, a problem characterized by the inability to fall or stay asleep. Zolpidem can improve how long it takes to fall asleep, decrease waking throughout the night, and increase sleep duration. It also works as a muscle relaxant (1)
Zolpidem works on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor. It elevates GABA’s inhibitory effects, therefore causing sedation (1).
Zolpidem comes in 5 and 10 mg strength tablets. The recommended dose of zolpidem is 10 mg every day right before you go to bed. You should not take zolpidem with food or immediately after eating. This dose may need adjustments for certain patient populations, such as with the elderly and those on central nervous system (CNS) depressants (2).
Ensure you take zolpidem at least seven to eight hours prior to waking (1).
Zolpidem starts working within 30 minutes (3).
Commonly experienced side effects with zolpidem include:
- Muscle pain
- Nausea
- Somnolence
- Headache
- Dizziness (3)
While the above effects are fairly mild, there are other serious adverse events that can also happen with zolpidem. These include:
- Allergy
- CNS depression
- Withdrawal
- Behavior changes (1)
If you experience any of these issues, contact your doctor right away.
Certain individuals should not take zolpidem. Therefore, it is important to let your doctor know of your full medical history. In particular, the following conditions may affect your ability to take zolpidem:
- Taking drugs that affect CYP450
- Allergy to zolpidem or its components (1)