The nine BzRA hypnotics are listed in the table below by both the brand name and the generic name. These medications have more similarities than differences. They all promote sleep by increasing the normal effects of a brain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The most important differentiating characteristic among BzRAs is the duration of their sleep-promoting action. That is, for how many hours does each drug help you sleep. Because of large difference between people, and different doses of medication prescribed, it is impossible to tell exactly how many hours a hypnotic will work for you, but the last column of the table provides some information about which BzRAs are longer or shorter acting (compared to the others). The longer the duration of action, the more likely it will work for the entire night, but also, the more likely you may feel groggy the next morning. Shorter-acting BzRAs will help most people to fall asleep and help some people to stay asleep, but others may wake up too early if a drug is shorter-acting. Doctors can use the differences between the BzRAs to maximize benefit and reduce any risk. For example, for a person who only has difficulty falling asleep at the beginning of the night, a shorter-acting drug will usually help and will also avoid sedation later in the night when it is not needed.

Click here to view a PDF table of common BzRAs

Almost all medications have some risk of side effects and hypnotics are no different. Most side effects with hypnotics occur when the drug is active in the body. The most common side effects with BzRAs are dizziness or grogginess, memory problems (for events which happened when the drug was active), and headache. The higher the dose of the drug the more likely a side effect will occur and lowering the dose will relieve the side effect in many cases.

Learn about other hypnotics