Ambien/Zolpidem questions

[kaiba]

After taking Ambien/Zolpidem, how long will you be/feel tired/sleepy typically/most-of-the-time/average?

According to Wikipedia, Ambien's half life is 2 to 2.9 hours, is the half life proportional to the time you will be feeling tired/sleepy or "duration of action"?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[mgrady3]

Its majorly dependent on whether you are using it to actually sleep or just to take it to see how it feels;
if you take it and stay awake then I'd say the half life is fairly accurate as far as the time period in which you'll feel the effects.

Ambien is usually used to help people fall asleep, they make an extended release formula that is both to help you fall asleep and stay asleep;

personally when I was taking it I thought it had a pretty short half life. It would help me fall asleep but then i'd wake up again 3 hours later. But sedatives affect people in different ways, I happen to have an over active CNS, so it took larger doses than normal to get me ot go to sleep. So for you its hard to say; 5mg or 10mg of ambien might knock you out cold and then if you don't normally have trouble staying asleep you might sleep fine for 8 hours. its a bit hard to say.

 

[kaiba]

Its majorly dependent on whether you are using it to actually sleep or just to take it to see how it feels;
if you take it and stay awake then I'd say the half life is fairly accurate as far as the time period in which you'll feel the effects.

Ambien is usually used to help people fall asleep, they make an extended release formula that is both to help you fall asleep and stay asleep;

personally when I was taking it I thought it had a pretty short half life. It would help me fall asleep but then i'd wake up again 3 hours later. But sedatives affect people in different ways, I happen to have an over active CNS, so it took larger doses than normal to get me ot go to sleep. So for you its hard to say; 5mg or 10mg of ambien might knock you out cold and then if you don't normally have trouble staying asleep you might sleep fine for 8 hours. its a bit hard to say.

Thanks for the reply!

How long would be the minimum sleep time if I want to wake up with an alarm clock without feeling groggy/tired/still-sleepy?

 

[s2k1099]

It works pretty strong for about 5 hours, for me. Zaleplon is a Z-drug like ambien but has a half life of 40 minutes, that's the best pill for avoiding grogginess in my opinion..

 

[Allein]

Its majorly dependent on whether you are using it to actually sleep or just to take it to see how it feels;
if you take it and stay awake then I'd say the half life is fairly accurate as far as the time period in which you'll feel the effects.

Ambien is usually used to help people fall asleep, they make an extended release formula that is both to help you fall asleep and stay asleep;

personally when I was taking it I thought it had a pretty short half life. It would help me fall asleep but then i'd wake up again 3 hours later. But sedatives affect people in different ways, I happen to have an over active CNS, so it took larger doses than normal to get me ot go to sleep. So for you its hard to say; 5mg or 10mg of ambien might knock you out cold and then if you don't normally have trouble staying asleep you might sleep fine for 8 hours. its a bit hard to say.

Exactly my experience with it, 3 hours then I couldn't get back to sleep. Ironic ad before I would finally nod off at about 3am and awake about 6. When i stopped taking it it took a good 3 days before I got anything like more than a hours sleep without waking or got any befor3 3am.

I've just started a short course of Zopiclone to help me through the insomnia effects of a new AD I believe that has a slightly longer half life

 

[jelyse69]

I used to have an Rx for Ambien CR but I crushed it up most of the time.
It put me out COLD for a good 10 hours, and waking up was a real bitch. I had a forensics lab in the morning after taking it the night before, and my lab partner literally shook me awake- my eyes were closed and I would fall asleep (like that nano-second of sleep then jerk awake) on the microscope.
Great drug btw

 

[chemschemschems]

I got used to the Ambien and haven't been getting any relief from it. It's made to quiet your CNS enough to fall asleep, but doesn't do much to keep you asleep. The Ambien CR didn't even work that great. Trazodone was awesome for keeping me asleep for a while, but the grogginess the next day was unbearable. They tell you to allow 8 hours for the Ambien - maybe that's what normal people experience with it.

 

[jelyse69]

They tell you to allow 8 hours for the Ambien - maybe that's what normal people experience with it.

Ughhh 8 hours is never enough for me. If I have 12 hours to spare and I'm desperate for that deep, wonderfully dreamless sleep, than I will use it. But 8 hours? I'd probably drown in my cereal from passing out.

 

[laCster]

i don't remember, sorry...