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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sedative . () |
- For the state of mind see Hypnosis.
Hypnotic drugs induce sleep (which differentiates them from the sedative category), used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia. Often the treatment of insomnia will not begin with drugs at all. Since many hypnotic drugs are habit-forming, a physician will usually recommend alternative sleeping patterns and exercise before prescribing medication for sleep, due to a large number of factors known to disturb the human sleep pattern.
These drugs include:
- barbiturates
- opioids
- benzodiazepines
- nonbenzodiazepines
- antihistamines
- gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (Xyrem)
- glutethimide
- chloral hydrate
- ethchlorvynol
- levomepromazine
- chlormethiazole
- Alcohol is also used as a hypnotic drug, though not medically. To quote the British National Formulary: "Alcohol is a poor hypnotic because its diuretic action interferes with sleep during the latter part of the night. Alcohol also disturbs sleep patterns, and so can worsen sleep disorders"
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 April 2008, at 15:47.
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