Hypnotic
Hypnotic or
soporific drugs are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia, or surgical anesthesia. This group is related to a very similar group of drugs called
sedatives. Whereas the term
sedative describes drugs that serve to calm or relieve anxiety, the term
hypnotic generally describes drugs whose main purpose is to initiate, sustain, or lengthen sleep. Because these two functions frequently overlap, and because drugs in this class generally produce dose-dependent effects they are often referred to collectively as
sedative-hypnotic drugs. Hypnotic drugs are regularly prescribed for insomnia and other sleep disorders, with over 95% of insomnia patients being prescribed hypnotics in some countries. Many hypnotic drugs are habit-forming and, due to a large number of factors known to disturb the human sleep pattern, a physician may instead recommend changes in the environment before and during sleep, better sleep hygiene, and the avoidance of caffeine or other stimulating substances before prescribing medication for sleep.