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Sedative, Hypnotic or Anxiolytic Drug Use Disorder

Sedative-hypnotic drugs — sometimes called "depressants" — and anxiolytic (antianxiety) drugs slow down the activity of the brain. Benzodiazepines (Ativan, Halcion, Librium, Valium, Xanax, Rohypnol) are the best known. An older class of drugs, called barbiturates (Amytal, Nembutal, Seconal, phenobarbital) fit into this broad category. Other drugs in this group include chloral hydrate (which when mixed with alcohol was once known as "knockout drops" or a "Mickey Finn"), glutethimide, methaqualone (Quaalude, Sopor, "ludes") and meprobamate (Equanil, Miltown and other brand names).

Alcohol has some properties similar to the above drugs, but alcohol is so common that health experts classify…

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Articles of Interest

Nonbenzodiazepine Sedative-Hypnotics for Sleep Disorders

Zolpidem, eszopiclone, and zaleplon are thought to induce sleep by subunit modulation of the GABA-A receptor chloride channel macromolecular complex. The main site of modulatory drug action is located within the GABA-A receptor complex on the alpha-subunit, which is known as the benzodiazepine (BZ) or omega receptor.

An approach to long-term sedative-hypnotic use

The perceived deleterious side effect of sedative-hypnotic medications may result in patients remaining untreated or undertreated. This review proposes that a more subtle approach needs to be taken in the management of patients with chronic insomnia and that long-term use of the newer sedative-hypnotics may be a feasible and effective treatment option when used in conjunction with thorough medical assessment and regular patient follow-up.

Anxiolytics and Sedative-Hypnotics Toxicity

Anxiolytics are a class of medications aimed at treating patients with panic disorders, generalized anxiety, and various other uses. Sedatives(hypnotics) are a class of drugs used in different situations ranging from treating insomnia to treating someone connected to a mechanical ventilator.

Are Sleeping Pills Safe? Here's What Research Says

While most people who take prescription sleeping pills do not experience major issues, the FDA has been concerned about their side effects for years. In 2013, it recommended lower bedtime doses of zolpidem in an effort to cut down on issues like next-morning drowsiness (which can contribute to car accidents and more).

FDA Requires Lower Doses for Certain Insomnia Drugs

The FDA said current recommended doses of Ambien and similar drugs should be cut in half for women and that the labeling should recommend doctors consider a lower dose for men.

Hypnotics and Sedatives

The sedative-hypnotic drugs that do not specifically target the benzodiazepine receptor belong to a group of agents that depress the CNS in a dose-dependent fashion, progressively producing calming or drowsiness (sedation), sleep (pharmacological hypnosis), unconsciousness, coma, surgical anesthesia, and fatal depression of respiration and cardiovascular regulation. They share these properties with a large number of chemicals, including general anesthetics and aliphatic alcohols, most notably ethanol.

List of Sedatives

Sedatives encompass a wide variety of drugs with different mechanisms of action that can induce depression of the central nervous system (CNS). In the first part of the 20th century, the pharmacotherapy of anxiety and insomnia relied on barbiturates, which were replaced with benzodiazepines as drugs of choice in the second part of the previous century. Besides those two groups of drugs, other sedatives are also used for that purpose.

Management of insomnia and long-term use of sedative-hypnotic drugs in older patients

Benzodiazepines and other sedative-hypnotic drugs are prescribed to many older adults despite the nearly 5-fold increased risk of adverse cognitive events associated with their use

Sedative, Hypnotic, and Anxiolytic-Related Disorders

This class of substances includes all prescription sleeping medications and almost all prescription anti-anxiety medications (tranquilizers).

Some reasons why you should avoid sleeping pills

We’ve known for a long time that hypnotic drugs are not good to take for more than one to three weeks because they are habit-forming and increase the risk of accidents. And there’s now a growing body of evidence that shows they could be increasing the risk of premature death. Hypnotics are medicines prescribed specifically to help people suffering from insomnia get a good night’s sleep. This includes people who have difficulty getting to sleep as well as those who struggle to stay asleep. The class of hypnotics prescribed the most are benzodiazepines or very closely related drugs. In this benzodiazapine class are temazepam (Normison, Temaze), flunitrazepam (Hypnodorm) and nitrazepam (Mogadon).