Research
Hormonal
Sleep pharmaceuticals (e.g., zolpidem, eszopiclone) used by military personnel can reduce short-term and long-term neurobehavioral performance, particularly in attention and reaction time.
Avoid using prescription sleep aids like Ambien or Lunesta if possible, as they can impair your performance the next day. Instead, seek cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or practice good sleep hygiene. If you must use medication, ensure you have at least 8 hours of non-work time afterward.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Sleep pharmaceuticals largely target inhibitory pathways through GABA signaling, resulting in reduced short-term and long-term neurobehavioral performance in attention and reaction time that can manifest in a dose-dependent manner
Why this rating
Based on the paper's review of military guidelines and pharmacological effects.
Source
Sleep in the United States Military
Cameron H. Good et al. · Neuropsychopharmacology · 2019
DOI 10.1038/s41386-019-0431-7
narrative_reviewCited 172×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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