What Is Zopiclone Used For?

What’s covered?

Zopiclone tablets promote sleep habits and treat chronic insomnia.

Healthy sleep is as important for your health and well-being as a healthy diet. A person deprived of healthy sleep will not have a healthy life. A lot of factors e.g., diseases, anxiety and emotional disturbances can disturb your sleep wakeup cycle.

What can you do to restore sleep? You might think of sleeping pills. Zopiclone is one such pill. When should it be used? When is zopiclone prohibited? Does its use cause any side effects? These questions may pop up in your mind. Let's answer them one by one.

What is zopiclone? How does it work?

Zopiclone is a sleeping aid that is sold under different brand names. It is a known sedative and just like other CNS depressants, it works by depressing the functions of the nervous system. You have a calming chemical in your brain called GABA (gamma Amino butyric acid). Its secretion makes you fall asleep. Zopiclone helps you to fall asleep by influencing the secretion of this chemical. Its pharmacological properties are however very diverse and you should avoid self-treatment.

It is recommended for short-term treatment and has a very low risk of causing rebound insomnia. However, a regular user can become addicted. So, with the dose reduction or stopping of treatment, severe withdrawal symptoms may develop.

When should you use zopiclone?

It is a prescription drug. So, you should consult your physician before using it. The common indications of its use are,

• Difficulty in falling asleep
• Partial or complete loss of sleep
• Awakening during night sleep (nocturnal awakening)
• Lack of sleep due to emotional and occupational disturbances

Self-medication is strictly prohibited for any sleeping pills and it is advised to start treatment from the lowest effective dose.

Health professionals advise

The pill is available in three different doses, 3.75mg, 7.5mg and 15mg. The maximum recommended dose for treating severe mental health problems is 15mg.

For healthy adults, a full 7.5mg pill is prescribed sometime before going to bed. For elderly people, the treatment should be initiated with half of this dose and can be increased if needed. The same approach is recommended for people under 18.

When should it not be used?

Zopiclone is a good solution for sleep problems. However, the use of zopiclone is not recommended in some situations e.g.,

• If you have liver problems, the clearance time will be increased and the same dose will have an elongated response. There will be an increased risk of side effects. The same will happen if you have kidney problems. Tell your doctor if you have these issues.
• You should not drink alcohol with this. The use of alcohol can prolong total rem sleep and can compromise breathing.

Other contraindications for taking zopiclone are;

• Severe respiratory failures
• Severe apnoea
• Myasthenia gravis
• Allergic to the medicine or any of its ingredients
• Finding no relief or even more disturbance of sleep patterns
• In infants

Does it have any side effects?

Hypnotics always come with some side effects. For zopiclone, the side effects are rare but overuse is associated with the following side effects.

• Tiredness and dizziness in the coming days
• Metallic or bitter taste in the mouth
• Dry mouth
• Loss of memory
• Hallucination, meaning you can see or hear the things which don't exist
• Delusions
• Depression and feelings of sadness
• Falling over, particularly for elderly
• Serious allergic reactions

Keep a keen eye on the development of such behaviours. Healthcare professionals have recommended this sleeping tablet for good and uninterrupted sleep. If you experience any side effects, you should consult your GP immediately. If you are interested to keep reading about other types of sleeping tablets, check out our article on Does Nytol work?