Management of insomnia: Treatments and mechanisms

Abstract

Management of insomnia is an interesting subject at present. New drug treatments are now becoming available after a relatively static period since the development of the Z-drugs in the 1990s. Moreover, more evidence is coming to light about the length of drug treatment and the effectiveness of psychological therapies. This article briefly describes current treatments, both evidence-based and common practice, and goes on to describe some emerging approaches. Declaration of interest S.W. and D.N. have received funding from several pharmaceutical companies with an interest in the drug treatment of sleep disorder.