How Is Ambien CR Different From Regular Ambien?

Ambien is a popular sleep-inducing medication, used by many people as an aid to their sleeping problems – and it’s very effective at what it does. However, there is a different variation of the drug, known as Ambien CR, which has slightly different effects and can be seen as a more powerful version of Ambien. If you’re wondering whether Ambien CR is the appropriate choice for your treatment, there are several factors to consider – which we’ve outlined below.

What’s the difference?

Before we get into deciding which type of Ambien is suitable for you though, you should be familiar with the specific differences between the two. You see, with regular Ambien, what happens is that you’re brought to sleep – very effectively, by that – and you remain sleeping for a while, with the specific duration depending on your body’s condition as well as your mood and other factors.

Ambien CR, on the other hand, not only induces a state of deep sleep in the patient, but also helps preserve that sleep – in other words, it keeps you asleep for a good while, enough to make sure you get enough of your REM sleep to feel refreshed on the next day.

How long will I sleep?

With Ambien CR, your sleep duration will vary anywhere between seven to nine hours, again depending on your body condition among other things. You should make sure you approach Ambien CR with the same caution as you do Ambien, even more – remember that it will be very difficult for you to wake up once under the effects of the medication, so make sure you only take it when you truly intend to fall asleep for a good while.

Do I need it?

This is the most important question for most people – do you really need Ambien CR as opposed to regular Ambien to achieve your desired sleep effects? To find out, you should ask yourself several questions:

• Does your sleep regularly get interrupted by external disturbances?
• Do you experience frequent nightmares causing you to wake up?
• Do you frequently wake up needing to use the bathroom?

Those, among other things, can contribute to a disrupted sleep condition. If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the questions above, you should probably look at Ambien CR as your preferred course of action.