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Zolpidem (Ambien)

Non-Benzodiazepine Hypnoticprescriptionoral · inferred

Imidazopyridine non-benzodiazepine hypnotic that selectively binds GABA-A receptor alpha-1 subunit. Used for short-term insomnia treatment. Rapid onset (~30 min), short duration. Metabolized by CYP3A4; inactive metabolites. Lower doses (5 mg) recommended for women and elderly.

Projected serum levels — 10 mg, once daily

Zolpidem (Ambien)
Zolpidem (Ambien) modeled serum levels, 10 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 1.3 2.5 3.8 5 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 10 mg once daily (oral).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 4.6 mg, trough ≈ 0.011 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 10 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Non-Benzodiazepine Hypnotic
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
2.5 h
Common dose
10 mg
Suggested maximum
10 mg/day
Reference dose range
1.8–10 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily
Validated against
10 mg oral — Cmax 0.13 mg/L at 1.6 h

Documented interactions

  • contraindicated
    Efavirenz (Sustiva) + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP induction

    Efavirenz (Sustiva) inducer of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~0.17x

  • contraindicated
    Rifampin + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP induction

    Rifampin inducer of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~0.17x

  • danger
    Carbamazepine (Tegretol) + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP induction

    Carbamazepine (Tegretol) inducer of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~0.26x

  • danger
    Clarithromycin (Biaxin) + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP inhibition

    Clarithromycin (Biaxin) mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~2.74x

  • danger
    Dasatinib (Sprycel) + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP inhibition

    Dasatinib (Sprycel) time_dependent_inhibitor of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~2.30x

  • danger
    Diltiazem + Zolpidem (Ambien) CYP inhibition

    Diltiazem mechanism_based of CYP3A4 predicted to change Zolpidem (Ambien) AUC by ~2.74x

Serum checks 81 modeled interaction pairings for zolpidem (ambien) across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. A multicenter, placebo-controlled study evaluating zolpidem in the treatment of chronic insomnia Scharf MB et al. · Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1994 DOI

    Placebo-controlled trial demonstrating zolpidem 10 mg significantly reduced sleep latency and increased total sleep time without tolerance over 35 nights or rebound insomnia upon discontinuation.

  2. Efficacy of eight months of nightly zolpidem: a prospective placebo-controlled study Krystal AD et al. · Sleep, 2008 DOI

    Eight-month prospective RCT showing nightly zolpidem maintained efficacy for sleep latency and efficiency without tolerance, providing evidence for longer-term use in chronic insomnia.

  3. Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of zolpidem Salva P, Costa J · Clinical Pharmacokinetics, 1995 DOI

    Definitive pharmacokinetic review establishing zolpidem half-life of 2-3 hours, rapid absorption, CYP3A4 metabolism to inactive metabolites, and dose adjustment recommendations for elderly and hepatic impairment.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.