Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Somnifacient (from Latin somnus, sleep [1]), also known as sedatives or sleeping pills, is a class of medications that induces sleep. It is mainly used for treatment of insomnia. Examples of somnifacients include benzodiazepines, barbiturates and antihistamines. Around 2-6% of adults with insomnia use somnifacients to aid sleep. [2]
Diphenhydramine, sold under the brand name Benadryl among others, is an antihistamine and sedative.It is a first-generation H 1-antihistamine and it works by blocking certain effects of histamine, which produces its antihistamine and sedative effects.
In the 1960s and 70s it was a very common component in over-the-counter sleep aids such as Alva-Tranquil, Dormin, Sedacaps, Sominex, Nytol, and many others. [5] The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) included it in the list of chemicals and compounds barred from use in over-the-counter (OTC) nighttime sleep aid products in 1989.
In July 1975, the J. B. Williams Co. began marketing Sominex 2. [37] On November 24, 1975, Attorney General Evelle J. Younger filed suit on behalf of the State of California against Williams Co., stating that the product did not warn against use by pregnant or nursing women or persons with asthma or COPD, nor did it notify consumers that it should not be used in conjunction with alcohol. [38]
Zolpidem tartrate, a common but potent sedative–hypnotic drug.Used for severe insomnia. Hypnotic (from Greek Hypnos, sleep [1]), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep [2] (or surgical anesthesia [note 1]) and to treat insomnia (sleeplessness).
Benadryl Allergy is widely used as a sleep aid among adults. While it is not marketed as an over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping aid, most versions of Benadryl contain diphenhydramine, a drug with sedative properties. [6] Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) has also been used by parents to help improve their infant's sleep habits.
The shorter elimination half-life of diphenhydramine (4–8 hours) compared to doxylamine may give it an advantage over doxylamine as a sleep aid in this regard. [27] Antihistamines like doxylamine are sedating initially but tolerance occurs with repeated use and can result in rebound insomnia upon discontinuation. [7] [28]
A meta-analysis of randomized, controlled clinical trials which compared benzodiazepines against zaleplon or other Z-drugs such as zolpidem, zopiclone, and eszopiclone has found few clear and consistent differences between zaleplon and the benzodiazepines in terms of sleep onset latency, total sleep duration, number of awakenings, quality of ...