While natural sleep is best, AMBIEN can help you:

• Fall asleep. AMBIEN has been shown to help individuals fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes. So it should be taken only when you are completely ready to go to sleep.
• Stay asleep. You know how frustrating it can be to wake during the night without being able to fall back asleep. In clinical trials, patients with insomnia report significantly fewer awakenings, compared with placebo, after taking AMBIEN.
• Avoid waking up too early. AMBIEN provides a full night's sleep, and has been proven to increase total sleep time.

In addition, AMBIEN:

• Generally doesn't disturb sleep stages. Studies in normal volunteers show that AMBIEN generally doesn't disturb sleep architecture. Sleep architecture is the term used to describe the alternating stages of REM (rapid eye movement) and non-REM sleep. REM sleep is often referred to as "dreaming sleep." During normal sleep, you cycle several times through all stages of non-REM and REM sleep. In clinical trials, normal subjects who took AMBIEN spent nearly the same percentage of their sleep time in each stage of sleep as those who took a sugar pill (placebo).
• Doesn't linger in your system. AMBIEN leaves your system quickly so you're more likely to wake the next morning feeling rested and refreshed, not groggy. In most instances, memory problems can be avoided if you take AMBIEN only when you are able to get a full night's sleep (7 to 8 hours) before you need to be active again.
• Has low incidence of side effects associated with short-term use.

Know the Benefits of a Good Night's Sleep

Getting enough sleep is important to both your physical and your emotional health. So if you haven't been getting the sleep you need, make an appointment with your doctor today. You might want to ask about the treatment options available to you, including combining lifestyle changes with a safe and effective sleep medication such as AMBIEN. You may find it helpful to track your sleep using the sleep diary so you can discuss any sleep patterns you've identified during your visit with your doctor.

Talk to your doctor about AMBIEN, and start enjoying the sleep you've been dreaming about.

Common Side Effects

All medicines have side effects. Common side effects of sleep medicines in general include:

• Daytime drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness
• Difficulty with coordination

The most commonly observed side effects in controlled clinical trials of AMBIEN were drowsiness (2%), dizziness (1%), and diarrhea (1%).

You may find that sleep medicines make you sleepy during the day. How drowsy you feel depends on how your body reacts to the medicine, which sleep medicine you're taking, and how large a dose your doctor has prescribed.

Daytime drowsiness is best avoided by taking the lowest dose possible that will still help you sleep at night. Your doctor will work with you to find the dose that's best for you.

Not sleeping at night can make you feel like you're going through life on "autopilot"—like you're out of step with what's going on around you. Your sleep can affect your physical and mental health, as well as your behavior and performance the next day.

If you have trouble sleeping, ask your doctor about AMBIEN (zolpidem tartrate). With over 10 years of clinical experience, AMBIEN has provided millions of people with a good night's sleep. Since its introduction, many studies and surveys have been conducted, involving tens of thousands of people. So doctors know how it works, and whether it can help treat a patient's particular sleep problem.

AMBIEN can help you sleep. It is possible, however, that your sleep loss results from another medical condition. And, like all sleep medications, prescription and non-prescription, AMBIEN has side effects as well as benefits. To see if AMBIEN is right for you, discuss your particular situation with your doctor.

Insomnia is a nighttime problem with sleeping that may cause problems during the day, such as tiredness, a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, and irritability. These effects sometimes leave a person feeling like they are out of step with what's happening around them.

People vary in their need for, and their satisfaction with, sleep. That's why insomnia is not defined based on numbers (eg, the number of hours of sleep per night); rather, it is based on a person's perception that his or her sleep is inadequate or of poor quality because of:

• Difficulty falling asleep
• Difficulty staying asleep
• Waking up too early
• Having sleep that is not refreshing

Insomnia is described as transient, intermittent, or chronic, depending on how long it lasts.

• Transient—lasting for a short time
• Intermittent—occurring on and off
• Chronic—occurring on most nights and lasting for a month or more

Our children are not getting enough sleep. Experts suggest that teens generally need 8 1/2 to 10 hours of sleep per night, while children 5 to 12 years of age require nine to 11 hours. However, based on a 2005 survey by the National Sleep Foundation, most children are not getting the rest they need.

Children who get inadequate sleep are more likely to exhibit a variety of emotional and behavioral problems. They have trouble concentrating and focusing in school. They have problems learning and seem moody. These children may be misdiagnosed by professionals who misinterpret these problems as manifestations of an attention-deficit or adjustment disorder rather than a sleep disturbance.

Helping your child get adequate sleep is an important first step that may have a big impact on their behavior.

Tips for a good night’s sleep

Do:
■ Develop a regular bedtime routine.
■ Talk with your child about the importance of sleep, and be a good role model.
■ Make sure your child gets regular exercise.
■ Talk with your doctor if your child has any sleep problems such as snoring, heavy breathing, night terrors, etc.
■ Limit sleepovers, as it is typically a time when children get very little sleep.

Don’t:
■ Allow children to consume drinks or foods with caffeine, especially in the afternoon or evening.
■ Allow teens to use medication as a solution to sleep problems.
■ Schedule too many weekend activities. Use the time to rest and get caught up on needed sleep.
■ Let your teen drive when tired.