Zopiclone

Zopiclone starts to work very quickly in your body. You should start to feel sleepy soon after taking it.

Your weight should not be affected by zopiclone.

A common side effect of zopiclone is a dry mouth. Over a long time, this can increase your risk of developing tooth decay or gum disease. Make sure you brush your teeth well and have regular dental check-ups. Speak to your dentist, doctor or pharmacist about things you can do to help.

You may want to let your family and friends know you are taking zopiclone so they can support you and help you look out for side effects.

Zopiclone is prescribed to help improve your sleep, so should make you feel sleepy and make it easier to get to sleep and stay asleep after taking it.

It is important to continue following other advice to help improve your sleep alongside zopiclone.

Zopiclone can affect your recent memory, especially if you do not go to bed just after taking it, or if your sleep gets interrupted. Make sure that you can get seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep if you are going to take zopiclone.

Some people have reported doing things like walking, preparing food, making phone calls, having sex and even driving while they were not fully awake. They do not remember doing these things after they wake. If you take zopiclone with alcohol, or with other medicines for mental health conditions like antidepressants, this is more likely to happen. If this happens to you, go back to your doctor to try another medicine.

Zopiclone is not expected to make you feel sleepy the following day, but if it does (or if it makes it more difficult for you to get to sleep or gives you strange nightmares) and this is a problem for you, you should go back to your doctor as soon as possible.

When you stop taking zopiclone you may experience ‘rebound insomnia’. This means your sleep might be worse and you might get more vivid dreams immediately after stopping it, but this should improve again. If it doesn’t, discuss this with your doctor.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol if you are taking zopiclone is not recommended as this is likely to make you very sleepy. Zopiclone may lower your tolerance to alcohol and you may experience more side effects which could be dangerous.

If you need to drive a car, ride a bike, or use machines at work, taking alcohol and zopiclone together could impair your ability to do this safely and be dangerous to yourself and others.

Drinking alcohol every day, or in large amounts, can disrupt your sleep and make your symptoms worse.

Street drugs

It is very easy, and serious, to overdose with any combination of zopiclone and drugs. Any combination could be very dangerous.

Using cannabis with zopiclone could make you feel sleepier. You could go into a deep sleep and find it is harder to wake up.

Cannabis and other drugs may have their own side effects on your mental health, like anxiety or psychosis.

Using heroin or methadone with zopiclone may make you feel sleepier. You could go into a deep sleep and find it harder to wake up.

There are many other street drugs, but we don’t know what effect taking them with zopiclone will have, so it’s best to be cautious. There is no regulation of street drugs or ‘legal highs’, so even if there are no known issues with the medication you take, the supply you receive might be mixed with other substances that could be dangerous.

Get more advice on our drugs and alcohol guide.

Zopiclone does not mix well with some other medicines, including herbal remedies. It may affect the way in which they work or could cause more side effects. Tell your doctor if you are taking any other medications, including over-the-counter medicines for common illnesses and things you put on your skin.

You should be very careful if you take zopiclone with other medicines that can cause sedation, especially medicines for pain relief that contain opioids (for example dihydrocodeine or morphine). When combined, these medicines may make you extremely sedated or could affect your breathing. Your doctor will monitor this carefully if you are prescribed these medicines together.

Always tell the pharmacist that you are taking zopiclone if you buy any medicines from a pharmacy.

Look at the leaflet inside your medicine box for more information about other medicines that can interact with citalopram. With some medicines your doctor may need to adjust the dose of your medicines if you take them together. Ask a doctor or pharmacist for more information if you have any questions.

Try not to drink caffeine drinks (like coffee, cola or energy drinks) while you are taking zopiclone.

Caffeine has the opposite effect of zopiclone in your body and could stop it from working so well.

Caffeine can cause anxiety and sleep loss. Stopping these drinks might help to improve your symptoms.

The tablets may not be suitable for you if you have problems eating some sugars or dairy foods, as they contain lactose.

Some zopiclone tablets contain wheat starch. People with coeliac disease can take these tablets, but people who have an allergy to wheat cannot take them.

Always let your pharmacist know if you have any food allergies or intolerances, and always check with them if you’re concerned about any of the ingredients in your medication.

If you need to avoid animal products, please note that non-active ingredients used in the production of medicines may sometimes be of animal origin. Ask your pharmacist if you have any questions about the ingredients.

Further information about practical considerations for medicines if you need to avoid animal products can be found on the Vegan Society website.

Do not drive a car or ride a bike just after you start taking zopiclone.

Taking zopiclone may make you feel tired, dizzy or confused, and may give you double-vision when you start taking it, even on the following day. Even if you don’t feel tired, it could affect your ability to make quick decisions. These effects are made much worse if you drink alcohol whilst taking zopiclone.

This could affect you if you drive a car, ride a bike, or do anything else that needs a lot of focus.
If you are not sleeping well, this could also make driving dangerous for yourself and other people.

For these reasons, you should not ride a bike or drive a car until you know how you will be affected.

Most people drive as normal while taking zopiclone. If you are worried about this or have any concerns you would like to discuss, speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

Pregnancy

If you become pregnant while you are on zopiclone, you should carry on taking it and make an appointment to see your doctor as soon as possible. They can discuss the benefits and risks of continuing zopiclone and help you to make a decision that is best for you and your baby.

They may refer you to a specialist perinatal mental health team to support you with this decision.

You can find out more information about taking zopiclone during pregnancy at Bumps (Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy).

Untreated illness can also be harmful to you and your developing baby, so decisions about medication when you are pregnant need to be discussed carefully with your doctor. If you and your doctor agree that zopiclone has more benefits than risks, you should tell your midwife. If you are planning to get pregnant, it is recommended that you take folic acid while you are trying for a baby and during pregnancy. It is safe to take this together with zopiclone.

Post-natal

Some newborn babies whose mothers take zopiclone during pregnancy can get withdrawal symptoms at birth and soon after, like breathing difficulties, muscle weakness or blow body temperature.

Let your midwife know if you are taking zopiclone, so that they can help if the baby has any symptoms at birth.

Breastfeeding

Zopiclone is passed to the baby in breastmilk in small amounts.

If your baby was born early or has any health issues, then breastfeeding while you are taking zopiclone may not be recommended. Talk to your midwife and doctor about feeding options.

If you breastfeed while taking zopiclone, seek urgent medical advice if your baby becomes restless, very sleepy or develops feeding problems.

Sex

Zopiclone can have side effects that might affect your sex life. These include not feeling like you want to have sex. This might happen because of the side effects zopiclone can cause like headaches, dry mouth or feeling tired.

Most side effects happen when you first start taking your medication and get better over time. If you are worried about this, speak with your doctor.

Untreated illness can have a negative effect on your sex life, so if zopiclone helps you to recover, positive effects can include improving your desire, experience and enjoyment of sex as your mood lifts and you become interested in life and relationships again.

Fertility

There is no evidence that zopiclone will affect your fertility. Talk to your doctor about your zopiclone and alternative choices of medication if you are trying to get pregnant or planning a family.

Zopiclone is not a banned substance in sport.

Most people play sports as normal while taking zopiclone, but if zopiclone affects your concentration, eyesight or co-ordination, then you may want to wait to see if those effects go away before playing sports that need a lot of focus. If you have any concerns, discuss this with your doctor.

Zopiclone will help you to sleep better, which might have a positive impact on how you play sports in the long term.

Zopiclone may affect your concentration, give you double vision or make you feel dizzy and tired.

Ideally it’s best not to take or stop taking zopiclone for the first time just before your exams.

It is not possible to predict how the medication will make you feel, and if you do get any side effects, these are more likely to occur when you first start taking zopiclone.

You should talk to your doctor about any future exams if you are starting zopiclone. You might decide together to delay starting it until you have done them.

If they are more than a month away, however, you might find that it is better to start zopiclone to improve your sleep, motivation and ability to study.

Try to avoid caffeinated drinks whilst taking zopiclone as they stop zopiclone from working.

Most people take exams as normal while taking zopiclone, but if you have any concerns, discuss this with your doctor.