Ambien/Ambien CR:

You’ve probably heard of Ambien and Ambien CR. They’re both advertised on television all the time. You may not understand the difference between them, though.

The original Ambien works perfectly fine for what it does. Its purpose is to help you get to sleep. So, if you find yourself staying up all hours of the night, your doctor could prescribe it. The down side, though, is that it doesn’t necessarily help you to stay asleep.

Think of Ambien CR as being a bit like the updates you sometimes get for computer software. It’s a new and improved version. CR is designed to not only knock you out, but keep you out for the night, too.

Lunesta:

Lunesta is another of the common sleep aids that you may see advertised on your TV. Like Ambien CR, it’s designed to not just put you to sleep, but also keep you that way for up to seven or eight hours.

The side-effects of all of the above medications are what you might expect. You could experience impaired thoughts or judgments and dizziness, for instance, since the medications are designed to make you drowsy and groggy.

Benzodiazepines:

This sort of sleeping medication has been around for a long time. Although there’s nothing wrong with them, they act differently from the newer medications, like Lunesta. Benzodiazepines, in fact, can have a tendency to make you want to sleep too much. You could find yourself drowsy even in the middle of the day if you’re on them. The other big problem is that they can be addictive. So, you should certainly only take them under your doctor’s close supervision.

Antidepressants:

Finally, since depression and insomnia often go hand-in-hand, many doctors prescribe anti-depression and anti-anxiety pills to treat the issue. Although they aren’t really insomnia medications, they can calm you down so that you can sleep better at night.

Depending on your age, any allergies you have and any possible drug interactions if you’re on multiple medications, though, your doctor may not choose to go that route. Since some of these drugs can cause dizziness, for example, doctors don’t usually recommend them for older people. So, your particular treatment will depend on your specific situation.