best prescription medication for anxiety and insomnia

Avoid these over-the-counter sleep drugs: Side effects of some drugs can be especially bothersome for seniors: next-day drowsiness, confusion, constipation, dry mouth, and difficulty urinating. Over-the-counter drugs may not be a good choice. Sometimes medications under the class antipsychotics or antidepressants are prescribed primarily for sleep including:

Kinds of sleeping pills (sedative-hypnotics).Īll of these pills have risks, especially for older adults: Sleep problems can be caused by depression or anxiety, pain, restless leg syndrome, and many other conditions.Įven if an exam does not turn up an underlying cause, you should try other solutions before you try drugs (tips for better sleep are found below). There are also concerns they may be as addictive as other sedatives. Studies suggest they have as much or more risk than the older sleep drugs. “Z” drugs include Zolpidem (Ambien and generic) and Zopiclone (Imovane and generic). These are common causes of hospitalization and death in older people. More than double the risk of falls and hip fractures.The drugs can cause confusion and memory problems as well as changes in balance that: Seniors are likely to be more sensitive to the drugs’ effects than younger adults.Īnd these drugs may stay in their bodies longer. Taking melatonin with these drugs might increase the risk of seizures.Sleeping pills can have serious, or even deadly side effects.Īll sedative-hypnotic drugs have special risks for older adults. Melatonin can stimulate immune function and interfere with immunosuppressive therapy. This medication used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder can increase melatonin levels, causing unwanted excessive drowsiness. Use melatonin cautiously if you take drugs such as diazepam (Valium, Valtoco, others) and others that are affected by these enzymes. Cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) and cytochrome P450 2C19 (CPY2C19) substrates.Use of contraceptive drugs with melatonin might cause an additive sedative effect and increase possible side effects of melatonin. If you take diabetes medications, talk to your doctor before using melatonin. Melatonin use with these medications might cause an additive sedative effect. Central nervous system (CNS) depressants.Melatonin might worsen blood pressure in people taking blood pressure medications. Melatonin might inhibit the effects of anticonvulsants and increase the frequency of seizures particularly in children with neurological disabilities. Combining use of melatonin with them might increase the risk of bleeding. These types of drugs, herbs and supplements reduce blood clotting. Anticoagulants and anti-platelet drugs, herbs and supplements.Talk to your child's doctor before giving melatonin to a child. However, good bedtime habits are usually recommended as an initial treatment. Small studies have suggested melatonin might help treat sleep disturbances in children with a number of disabilities. It's not clear whether melatonin can improve daytime sleep quality and duration in people whose jobs require them to work outside the traditional morning to evening schedule. Evidence shows that melatonin can improve jet lag symptoms, such as alertness and daytime sleepiness. Melatonin might be more beneficial for older adults who could be melatonin deficient. Research suggests that melatonin might slightly reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, but its effects on sleep quality and total sleep time aren't clear. Research shows that melatonin reduces the length of time needed to fall asleep and advances the start of sleep in adults and children with this condition. In this disorder, your sleep pattern is delayed two hours or more from a conventional sleep pattern, causing you to go to sleep later and wake up later. Delayed sleep phase (delayed sleep-wake phase sleep disorder).Melatonin can help improve these disorders in adults and children. Circadian rhythm sleep disorders in the blind.Research on melatonin use for specific conditions shows:

Best prescription medication for anxiety and insomnia