Warning: May Cause Sleep-Driving and Sleep-Eating Ambien^®, a widely prescribed sleeping pill, was originally marketed as being less addictive and having fewer side effects than older medications. But Ambien users have reported waking up to find the oven turned on and food strewn around the kitchen and in their bed. Other Ambien users have reported driving while asleep, waking up only after being arrested on the side of the road (Saul, 2007a, 2007b). In general, Ambien appears to increase the odds of experiencing parasomnias (Ben-Hamou & others, 2011). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now requires that Ambien and other sleeping medications warn of sleep-driving, sleep-eating, and sleepwalking as potential side effects.

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