what are half lives and why do they matter
Medication half life? Is the amount of time it takes for your body to reduce the drug by half. It can take hours or days, depending on the half-life. Half-lives matter for different reasons. For example, the half-lives of hypnotics can have an important impact on a person. (A) Hypnotics with ultra-long half-lives (greater than 24 hours: for example, flurazepam and quazepam) can cause drug accumulation with chronic use. This has been associated with increased risk of falls in the elderly. (B) Hypnotics with moderate half-lives (15–30 hours: estazolam, temazepam, most tricyclic antidepressants, mirtazapine, olanzapine) may not wear off until after the individual needs to awaken and may have “hangover” effects (sedation, memory problems). (C ) Hypnotics with ultra-short half-lives (1–3 hours: triazolam, zaleplon, zolpidem, melatonin, ramelteon) can wear off before the person needs to wake up and therefor can cause sleep loss. (D) Hypnotics with half-lives that are short but not ultra-short (approximately 6 hours: zolpidem CR and perhaps low doses of trazodone or doxepin) only last the a short amount of time.
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-Chris