The short explanation
It is worth stopping to check with a doctor before carrying on. Many sleeping tablets work for a short time and then less well; some are habit-forming, so that stopping suddenly makes sleep worse or causes withdrawal effects; and several cause next-day drowsiness that affects driving, work and falls. Tablets from the medical shop may also be antihistamines, which cause drowsiness but are not a long-term answer either. Doctors who do prescribe sleeping tablets usually mean them for a short period only, alongside dealing with the reason sleep has gone.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Some prescription sleeping tablets are sold in India without a prescription, which does not make them suitable for everyone. They interact with alcohol, pain medicines, some antidepressants and other sedatives, and they are riskier in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, in older people, and in anyone with breathing problems or sleep apnoea.
- If you have been taking them nightly for weeks, do not stop abruptly — a clinician can help you reduce them gradually.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you what the tablets you were given are, whether they are suitable for you, or how to stop them. Take the strip or packet to a doctor or pharmacist so they can see exactly what it is.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- What exactly is this tablet, and is it suitable for me?
- Is it habit-forming, and how do I stop it without my sleep getting worse?
- Does it interact with anything else I take?
- What else could help my sleep, such as CBT for insomnia?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
- Get emergency care now (call 112 or 108) if someone has taken more tablets than intended, is very hard to wake, is breathing slowly or shallowly, or has taken them with alcohol and is confused.
- Get help now if you are thinking of taking tablets to harm yourself: Tele-MANAS 14416 or 112.
- See a clinician within days if you have been taking sleeping tablets nightly for weeks, or feel you cannot sleep without them.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
Who wrote and reviewed this
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- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
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No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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