Yes, at least some kinds.
So far, the only sleeping pill approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for long-term use is Lunesta, which has been shown to remain effective for at least six months, unlike some drugs that lose their effectiveness over time, prompting people to take more and more of them.
But two other medications that are chemically similar to Lunesta — Ambien and Sonata — are probably just as safe to take long term, researchers said, though they haven’t been specifically studied for that.
All three drugs are selective non-benzodiazepines, which means they are chemically different from the benzodiazepines (like Valium), which were once vastly over-prescribed. At normal doses, neither the benzodiazepines nor the non-benzodiazepines are addictive in the sense that they cause physiological withdrawal symptoms when a person stops using them, said Edward Stepanski, director of the sleep disorders service and a board member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
“If you stop taking either the older benzodiazepines or the Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta drugs, you run the risk of not sleeping and that’s it,” said Stepanski, who gets research funding from several companies that make sleeping pills. Some people, however, do become psychologically dependent on the pills.
There are no studies of people using these drugs for years and years, “but the anecdotal evidence is that there is no harm in doing so, Stepanski added, noting that if there were significant adverse effects, they would probably have emerged by now.
The big advantage of the Lunesta, Sonata and Ambien sleeping pills is how quickly the body gets rid of them, said Dr. John Winkelman, medical director of the Sleep Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Sonata has the shortest “half-life,” which means it is substantially gone from the body in about four hours — which is great if you’ve only got four hours to sleep, but not as good if you’re trying to sleep for 8, said Winkelman, who consults for the manufacturers of all three drugs. Ambien lasts a bit longer and Lunesta, the longest — about 8 hours in older people.
Don’t be afraid of sleeping pills if you have chronic or acute insomnia. But take them according to instructions and call your doctor if you develop problems.