Trazodone can improve some aspects of sleep quality in people with insomnia, according to data from a new meta-analysis, reports Psych Congress Network.
“Trazodone with 50-150 mg/day was effective in sleep maintenance by decreasing the number of early awakenings and it could significantly improve perceived sleep quality,” Dr. Xin-yu Zhou of The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, in China, told Reuters Health by email.
In their February 7 online report in Sleep Medicine, Dr. Zhou and his team note trazodone is a second-generation triazolopyridine antidepressant, is more often used at lower doses as a hypnotic, and is often prescribed for insomnia in people with depression. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved trazodone as a hypnotic, some guidelines recommend it for this purpose, and the drug’s use is on the rise in the U.S., the authors note.
