Insomnia medications: History, characteristics, and guidelines for optimal use in clinical practice

Abstract

SummaryThis article reviews the history of insomnia pharmacotherapy, documenting the evolution that has occurred over time in the increasing availability of medications with novel mechanisms of action that more specifically target the neural systems that modulate sleep/wake function. This evolution provides an increasing capacity to improve the effectiveness of insomnia pharmacotherapy by allowing the selection of medications that specifically target the particular type of sleep difficulty present in each patient. As a result, they can achieve a therapeutic effect with fewer effects on aspects of brain function other than those needed to achieve benefit, thereby minimising adverse effects. The accumulated evidence‐base is such that it can serve as the basis for a personalised insomnia pharmacotherapy paradigm. Here we outline a set of best‐practice recommendations for how to carry out optimised personalised insomnia pharmacotherapy based on that evidence base in the hope that it will improve the treatment delivered to the many individuals suffering from insomnia.