Have You Been Prescribed Hydroxyzine For Sleep? Here’s What You Should Know

If it’s late at night, and you can not sleep well, you can not wake up fresh and energetic. If you can not get a restful night in sequence, you will feel tired and lack energy. It’s not the thing that lets you keep working throughout the day because you suffer from tiredness. In that case, it’s compulsory to treat your insomnia. So, in this article, we will discuss a drug that doctors prescribe to patients so they can sleep well. You will understand everything about Hydroxyzine for sleep and how to use it correctly.

Know about Hydroxyzine For Sleep

Sleeping Tablets:

20 out of 100 adults take sleeping tablets to sleep well. These are OTC drugs that are available and affordable. Most sleeping tablets have the common ingredient antihistamine. So, they are usable for allergic reactions and other symptoms too. Moreover, Hydroxyzine medicine has an Antihistamine ingredient, and it is one of the quickest tablets to treat insomnia.

Insomnia:

It’s not good for health because a person’s quality of life is affected due to the lack of productivity, energy, and efficiency. So, there is a need for a drug if you are a patient with insomnia. Insomnia is a health issue where a person doesn’t feel sleepy even after working hard and getting tired. In this case, Hydroxyzine for sleep is effectively treating this condition.

The Use Of Hydroxyzine for sleep

You can say Hydroxyzine had an Antihistamine ingredient to treat various symptoms of the poor-health body. It is a natural Chemical to deal with an injury, allergic reactions, and other issues. Doctors also prescribe this medicine to cure the symptoms of itchy skin, skin rashes, and other health-related problems.

Hydroxide causes lesser activities of the human body due to the slower functions of the nervous system. That’s why most doctors suggest it took for anxiety disorder too. Similarly, you can take it for insomnia. This medicine produces calming effects. So, doctors may also suggest some other medications with it to work as anesthesia.

 

Hydroxyzine for sleep
Pic credit- bbc.com

What To Know?

If you use this tablet for insomnia, you can say it’s an off-label prescription. Do you know what does it mean? It means that this drug is FDA-approved, but it’s not approved by FDA to treat insomnia. The primary function of this drug is to treat allergies, not insomnia (according to the Food & Drug Administration). And there are several off-label prescriptions available to treat many diseases, and you can consider it as one of them.

How Does Hydroxyzine For Sleep Work?

Antihistamine chemical stops the body’s chemical production of histamine. Now, you may be wondering how it can make you sleepy, however, one thing you must know is that it’s not helpful because of its benefits when it comes to the treatment of insomnia. You feel sleepy due to the side effect of insomniac, drowsiness.

Most OTC drugs can make a person drowsy and sleepy. So, it’s the result of its calm effects of it.

What Do Experts Think about Hydroxyzine for sleep?

There is a need for more research on what happens when a patient takes Antihistamine Medicine. The reason is that these medications slow the body’s functionality. It gives calming effects to certain parts of the brain.

Moreover, histamine and the body’s sleeping cycle have a direct connection. When the body produces histamine, it will send signals to the brain to wake up. So, if there is excessive histamine in the body before going to sleep, you will be unable to sleep.

Antihistamine Medicine blocks the chemical releases of histamine. So, the brain doesn’t get the signals to wake up. It makes the medicine useful for the short term and cures your insomnia. So, if you have been in stressful events, you can use this tablet as an off-label prescription.

However, if you continue taking this drug for a long, you can not tolerate the effects and sleep well without taking the medicine. So, you have to use it for the short term.

How Long Will Antihistamine Medicine Last?

If you compare Hydroxyzine For Sleep with other medicines, you can say it works for approximately 20 hours. So, when 20 hours pass, people will experience the half effects of this drug when compared to the time taken. So, it has a half-life after 20 hours. But most people have found it sticky, and its effects last longer. They experienced that after waking up, people felt groggy.

So, if you have issues like this, you must talk to your doctor to adjust your prescription. But you can not vary on your own when you take drugs for sleep.

When Should You Take This Medicine?

hydroxyzine for sleep
Pic credit- arthritis-health.com

Even though you may be taking this drug regularly, you must take it when you have a whole night to sleep, and if you don’t find seven to eight hours of sleep, avoid taking this medicine. Of course, avoid taking this drug if you can not go to bed for at least seven hours. Keep in mind that if you are traveling or want to wake up early, do not use this medicine for that day.

What Is The Ideal Dosage?

  • People with insomnia must follow the ideal dosage of Hydroxyzine medicine. Still, the dose is different for everyone, and they must consider it as ideal for only themselves. It depends on the condition and the person.
  • The doctors prescribe the dose between 10 to 50 mg per day. It is to take once a day before going to bed.
  • Once doctors observe changes, they will vary and adjust the doses as per requirements.
  • You have to practice having a healthy sleeping cycle because you can not take this medicine for long. So, control your sleep and modify your schedule to keep your body healthy.
  • Do not only take care of the dose but also ensure that you follow the instructions given by the physician.
  • You have to find the root cause of your insomnia. Even though you take antihistamine medicine, you must find the cause of the inability to sleep and treat your body naturally.

What Are The Common Sleeping Hygiene?

You can practice some sleeping hygiene to make sure you don’t have to take this drug for long. It includes the following.

  • Control the consumption of caffeine and alcohol and do not take night dinner.
  • Build a habit of workout daily at a particular time and keep your body warm.
  • Develop a habit to sleep regularly and sleep at the same time every day, and do not disturb it.
  • Limit the time you spend in bed, and you will feel sleepy when you go to sleep.
  • Do not sleep in the daytime.
  • Be in sunlight and natural light for some time, and it should be regularly.

The Side Effects Of Hydroxyzine For Sleep:

Each medication may have side effects on your body. So, Hydroxyzine has some side effects too. There is no doubt you can use this medication for short-term effectiveness and treat your insomnia. But there are side effects too that people experience.

hydroxyzine for sleep
Pic credit- singlecare.com

One of the most commonly observed adverse effects is drowsiness. Of course, it’s a benefit for you to feel sleepy and have a good sleep. But it keeps you drowsy for the whole day. It will go after a few days, and your body will adjust to the dosages. The following are several other side effects of Hydroxyzine For Sleep.

  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Chest pain
  • Headache
  • Fainting
  • Seizure
  • Skin rashes
  • Skin redness
  • Severe dizziness
  • Dry mouth

If these side effects don’t go away, you must seek emergency medical help, or your body will face severe adverse effects in the future.

Who’s Not Good Fit For Hydroxyzine?

If you are a patient with insomnia, you may be prescribed to take Antihistamine Medicine. But it is not true that all insomnia patients can take this drug. It is a must to find if you can take it or not. It is possible through consulting an experienced and certified doctor. Discuss with your doctor the following.

  • Your family history of QT syndrome
  • Your personal history of the syndrome
  • Urination problems
  • Bladder obstruction
  • Glaucoma
  • Heart diseases
  • Electrolyte imbalance
  • Pregnancy or plan to have a child

Based on these discussions, your doctors can figure out if you should take it or continue it or not.

Tell Your Doctor About The Following (IF):

  • You may be using any sleeping tablets
  • You are using narcotics pain medication
  • Muscle relaxing tablets
  • Benzodiazepines or antidepressants
  • Medicine for heart
  • Antipsychotic medicines
  • Cancer treatment medicines

Wrapping Up:

Have you been taking Hydroxyzine for sleep? If you are a patient with insomnia and want to use Antihistamine Medicine, you must be aware of its side effects and the ability to treat the symptoms of skin rashes, insomnia, and allergic reactions. But do not forget to discuss with your doctor your overall health and the symptoms of diseases, and if you are a pregnant woman, planning to get pregnant, or breastfeeding, you must ask your doctor if you should use it or not.