Sleeping pills and minor tranquillisers

Explains what sleeping pills and minor tranquillisers are used for, how the medication works, possible side effects and information about withdrawal.

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Non-benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medication

This page has information about non-benzodiazepine medications that you may be offered to treat anxiety. See our page on benzodiazepines for information about benzodiazepine anti-anxiety medications.

The table below allows you to compare these drugs by different factors. Some of these drugs have more than one name. You might know a drug by its generic name or its trade name. See our page on drug names for more information.

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Generic name	Trade names (UK)	Forms available	Half-life	Dietary considerations
buspirone	none	tablets	2 to 11 hours	contains lactose avoid grapefruit juice
pregabalin	Alzain, Axalid, Lecaent, Lyrica	capsules liquid	about 6.3 hours	capsules contain gelatin

You may also be prescribed other types of medication to treat anxiety, such as:

Our page on treatments for anxiety has more information, including details of non-medication treatment options.

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This information was published in April 2021. We will revise it in 2024.

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