How effective are the benzodiazepines?
The main differences between the benzodiazepine type drugs are: • how quickly they start to act • how long they stay in the body. When they are used to help sleep, then a short-acting drug is better so that you don’t get a “hangover” effect the next day, which can make it dangerous to drive or use machinery. The “z-drugs” were designed to fulfil this need and do it well. When anxiety is present all day long, then a longer acting benzodiazepine such as valium or ativan is used. If someone is both anxious and sleeping badly, the longer-acting benzodiazepines can be taken at night – they will improve sleep but still be present the next day to help with the anxiety.
