Zopiclone: Dose, Side Effects, and Why It Is Only for Two Weeks
An honest UK guide to the most commonly prescribed sleeping tablet, including what happens when it stops working.
Part of our Insomnia condition guide.
In short: Zopiclone works, and it works quickly — but UK guidance limits it to a maximum of two weeks, preferably less than one, because tolerance and dependence develop fast. It is a controlled drug in the UK. Access Doctor does not supply zopiclone; this guide is here because it is one of the most searched-for medicines in the UK and the honest picture is hard to find.
Sleep Problems Lasting Longer Than a Fortnight?
If insomnia has gone on for months, a two-week hypnotic is not the answer to it. Access Doctor is a GPhC-registered UK pharmacy (#9011198) — a pharmacist independent prescriber can review which of the longer-term licensed options is appropriate for you.
View Insomnia Treatments →What zopiclone is
Zopiclone is a prescription-only sleeping tablet, one of a group known as the z-drugs alongside zolpidem and zaleplon. It is licensed for the short-term treatment of insomnia and is the most widely prescribed hypnotic in the UK.
It works. It shortens the time it takes to fall asleep, reduces waking during the night, and takes effect within 30 to 60 minutes. None of the caution that follows is about whether it works — it is about how quickly that benefit erodes, and what it costs on the way.
7.5mg
standard adult dose at bedtime
2 weeks
maximum course under UK guidance
12 hrs
before driving after a dose
Is zopiclone a controlled drug?
Yes. Zopiclone was reclassified as a Schedule 4 Part 1 controlled drug in the UK in June 2014, alongside zaleplon. Zolpidem sits in the same schedule.
The practical consequences for patients are modest but worth knowing:
- A prescription for zopiclone is valid for 28 days from the date on it
- It is illegal to supply it to anyone else, or to possess it without a prescription
- Travelling abroad with it may require documentation from your prescriber, depending on the destination
- Prescribers are expected to keep clear records and to justify repeat supply
Schedule 4 Part 1 does not carry the strict prescription-writing requirements that apply to Schedule 2 and 3 drugs, so in practice a zopiclone prescription looks much like any other. The classification is a signal about misuse potential rather than a heavy administrative burden.
How it works
Zopiclone acts on GABA, the brain's principal inhibitory neurotransmitter. It binds at a site on the GABA-A receptor and amplifies GABA's calming effect, which suppresses activity across the central nervous system.
That produces sedation, which is close enough to sleep to be useful. But it is a broad effect rather than a targeted one, and that breadth is where the problems come from: the same mechanism that quietens the wakefulness circuits also affects balance, memory formation, coordination and, at higher doses, respiratory drive.
Worth knowing: z-drugs were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s as a safer alternative to benzodiazepines such as temazepam. They act at the same receptor complex, somewhat more selectively. The risks of tolerance and dependence turned out to be lower than benzodiazepines but very far from absent, which is why the two-week limit exists.
Dose
| Group | Dose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | 7.5mg once daily at bedtime | The standard dose |
| Older people | 3.75mg initially, if essential | Guidance is to avoid z-drugs in older adults where possible, because of falls and fractures |
| Liver or kidney impairment | Reduced dose | Avoid entirely in severe liver impairment |
- Take it immediately before bed, not an hour in advance
- Never re-dose during the same night, even if you wake at 3am
- Only take it when you can allow a full night's sleep — ideally more
- Do not double up after a missed dose
Why two weeks, and what happens after
UK prescribing guidance is explicit: use the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible period, and do not continue treatment for longer than two weeks, preferably less than one. For short-term insomnia with a passing trigger, a course of three to seven days is typical.
You may see patient information saying zopiclone is "usually not prescribed for more than four weeks". Both statements point the same way — short — but the prescribing guidance clinicians actually work to is the two-week figure, and the direction of travel over the last decade has been towards shorter courses, not longer ones.
Three things happen if a course runs on.
Tolerance
The dose that worked in week one works less well by week three. The obvious response is to take more, which accelerates everything else.
Dependence
Both physical and psychological. Stopping produces rebound insomnia worse than the original problem, which is powerfully persuasive evidence that you still need the tablet.
The underlying problem is untouched
Zopiclone sedates. It does nothing to the behaviours and beliefs maintaining chronic insomnia, so the insomnia is waiting when the course ends.
UK guidance also states that further prescriptions will not usually be given, that the reasons for this should be explained and documented, that no further prescription should be issued without seeing the person again, and that if the first hypnotic has not worked, a second should not be prescribed.
Side effects, including the metallic taste
Common
- A bitter or metallic taste in the mouth — the most characteristic zopiclone side effect, often present the next morning
- Dry mouth
- Next-day drowsiness and reduced alertness — the "hangover" effect
- Headache and dizziness
- Nausea
The metallic taste is genuinely distinctive. It is a recognised effect of zopiclone specifically, described as bitter or metallic and sometimes lasting into the following day. It is harmless. It is also a useful marker: if someone describes it, they are almost certainly describing zopiclone rather than another sleeping tablet.
Less common
- Memory problems, particularly for events after taking the dose
- Confusion, and in older people an increased risk of falls
- Low mood, irritability or agitation
- Vivid dreams or nightmares
Serious effects and sleepwalking
Stop and seek medical advice if you experience breathing difficulties, hallucinations, severe confusion, thoughts of self-harm, or any complex behaviour during sleep. Get emergency help for signs of a serious allergic reaction — swelling of the face, lips or throat, or difficulty breathing.
Complex sleep behaviours deserve particular mention. A small number of people carry out activities while not fully awake and with no memory of them afterwards — sleepwalking, eating, making phone calls, and in rare and well-documented cases driving. This is why anyone who has previously experienced complex sleep behaviours on zopiclone should not be prescribed it again, and why the risk rises sharply if it is combined with alcohol or other sedatives.
Who should not take it
Zopiclone is contraindicated in people with:
- Severe obstructive sleep apnoea — it suppresses respiratory drive and can worsen the underlying problem
- Respiratory failure
- Marked neuromuscular respiratory weakness
- Myasthenia gravis
- Severe liver impairment
- Previous complex sleep behaviours after taking zopiclone
It should be used with caution, and often avoided, in:
- Older adults — increased risk of falls, fractures and confusion. UK guidance is not to prescribe hypnotics to older people
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding — guidance is not to prescribe hypnotics
- A history of drug or alcohol misuse — manufacturers advise extreme caution
- Depression or other psychiatric illness — possible increased risk of suicidal ideation
- Chronic lung disease, muscle weakness, and liver or kidney impairment
- Anyone who drives, works at height or operates machinery
Snoring is not a trivial detail here. Loud snoring with choking, gasping or witnessed pauses in breathing points to obstructive sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea causes broken, unrefreshing sleep that can look exactly like insomnia — and a sedative is the wrong treatment for it, potentially a dangerous one. This is one of the main reasons a prescriber will ask about snoring before issuing any hypnotic.
Driving: the 12-hour rule and the law
Do not drive or operate machinery for at least 12 hours after taking zopiclone. Next-day impairment is common and is frequently underestimated by the person experiencing it. Driving while impaired by a prescribed medicine is an offence in Great Britain, even when the medicine was legitimately prescribed for you.
Practically: a tablet at 11pm means no driving before 11am. If you have to leave for work at 7am, zopiclone the night before is not compatible with that.
The DVLA must be informed if excessive sleepiness is having, or is likely to have, an adverse effect on your driving. That includes sleepiness caused by medication.
Alcohol
Do not drink alcohol with zopiclone. Both depress the central nervous system and the combination is more than additive: it increases sedation, raises the risk of breathing problems, and substantially increases the likelihood of complex sleep behaviours and memory loss.
There is a further trap. Alcohol is one of the most common self-treatments for insomnia, and one of the worst — it shortens the time to fall asleep and then fragments the second half of the night. Someone using both a nightcap and a sleeping tablet has two things working against sleep quality and one serious interaction.
Tolerance, dependence and withdrawal
Tolerance can begin within days to a couple of weeks. Dependence — physical and psychological — can develop within weeks of regular use.
Withdrawal effects on stopping may include:
- Rebound insomnia — sleep temporarily worse than before the medicine started
- Anxiety, restlessness and irritability
- Tremor, sweating and palpitations
- Nausea
- Rarely, confusion or seizures after prolonged high-dose use
Rebound insomnia is the trap that keeps people on zopiclone for years. Sleep after stopping is genuinely worse than it was before — which feels like proof the tablet is still needed. It is not. Rebound is temporary and settles over days to a couple of weeks. Knowing it is coming is most of what it takes to get through it.
Do not stop abruptly after prolonged use. If you have been taking zopiclone for more than a few weeks, speak to your prescriber about a gradual reduction. Withdrawal is managed with a stepped dose reduction over weeks to months depending on how long you have been taking it, and it is far easier alongside CBT-I than on its own.
When it stops working
This is the most common reason people search for information about zopiclone, so it is worth answering directly.
If zopiclone worked and no longer does, that is tolerance, and it is the expected pharmacology rather than something unusual about you. Increasing the dose restores the effect briefly and worsens the underlying position. UK guidance is explicit that if one hypnotic has not worked, another should not simply be substituted.
The useful question at that point is not "what is a stronger tablet?" but "what is actually maintaining this insomnia?" — and for anything lasting three months or more, the answer usually involves the behaviours and beliefs that CBT-I is designed to address.
What to use instead for long-term insomnia
| Option | Who it suits | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| CBT-I | Anyone with insomnia lasting 3 months or more, at any age | 6–8 weeks, benefit persists afterwards |
| Prolonged-release melatonin | Adults aged 55 and over with poor sleep quality | Up to 13 weeks |
| Daridorexant (Quviviq) | Insomnia 3+ months, 3+ nights a week, where CBT-I has failed or is unavailable | Reviewed at 3 months |
| Treating the driver | Where sleep apnoea, reflux, pain, menopause, anxiety or depression is underneath it | As required |
Zopiclone remains a reasonable choice for what it is licensed for: a short, severely distressing patch of insomnia with an identifiable trigger that is expected to pass. The mistake is using a two-week medicine for a problem measured in months.
Can you buy zopiclone online in the UK?
Not without a prescription, and not from Access Doctor — we do not supply zopiclone.
Zopiclone is both a prescription-only medicine and a Schedule 4 controlled drug. Any UK-facing website offering it without a consultation and a prescriber's assessment is operating illegally, and the products such sites supply are not UK-regulated medicines. Counterfeit z-drugs are a well-documented problem: content varies from nothing at all to entirely different and considerably more dangerous substances.
How to check any UK online pharmacy: look for a GPhC registration number, verify it on the General Pharmaceutical Council register, and confirm there is a genuine clinical consultation rather than a tick-box. A legitimate service will sometimes tell you no. Access Doctor is GPhC-registered pharmacy #9011198.
Talk to a Prescriber About the Longer-Term Options
If insomnia has lasted months, the useful conversation is about CBT-I and the licensed longer-term treatments — not a fortnight of sedation. Complete an online consultation and a GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber will review it. Nothing is issued without clinical assessment.
View Insomnia Treatments →Frequently Asked Questions
How long can you take zopiclone for?
UK prescribing guidance is a maximum of two weeks, and preferably less than one. For short-term insomnia with a passing trigger, a course of three to seven days is typical. The limit exists because tolerance develops within days to a couple of weeks and dependence can follow within weeks of regular use. Guidance also states that further prescriptions will not usually be given, that no further prescription should be issued without seeing the person again, and that if the first hypnotic has not worked a second should not be prescribed instead.
Is zopiclone a controlled drug in the UK?
Yes. Zopiclone was reclassified as a Schedule 4 Part 1 controlled drug in the UK in June 2014, alongside zaleplon, and zolpidem sits in the same schedule. In practice this means a prescription is valid for 28 days from the date on it, it is illegal to supply it to anyone else or to possess it without a prescription, and travelling abroad with it may require documentation depending on the destination. Schedule 4 Part 1 does not carry the strict prescription-writing requirements that apply to Schedule 2 and 3 drugs, so the prescription itself looks much like any other.
What is the dose of zopiclone?
The standard adult dose is 7.5mg once daily immediately before bedtime. In older people the starting dose is 3.75mg, and UK guidance is to avoid hypnotics in older adults where possible because of the increased risk of falls and fractures. The dose is reduced in liver or kidney impairment and zopiclone is avoided entirely in severe liver impairment. Never take a second dose during the same night, even if you wake in the small hours, and only take it when you can allow a full night of sleep.
Why does zopiclone give you a metallic taste?
A bitter or metallic taste is the most characteristic side effect of zopiclone and it is very common. It often persists into the following morning. It is harmless, it is a recognised effect of the medicine itself rather than a sign anything is wrong, and it is distinctive enough that it usually identifies zopiclone rather than another sleeping tablet. Dry mouth commonly accompanies it. Neither is a reason to stop taking a prescribed course, though you should mention it to your prescriber if it is troubling you.
How long after taking zopiclone can I drive?
Do not drive or operate machinery for at least 12 hours after taking zopiclone. Next-day impairment is common and is frequently underestimated by the person experiencing it. In practical terms, a tablet at 11pm means no driving before 11am, so it is not compatible with an early start the next morning. Driving while impaired by a prescribed medicine is an offence in Great Britain even when the medicine has been legitimately prescribed for you, and the DVLA must be informed if excessive sleepiness is likely to affect your driving.
Is zopiclone addictive?
It can be. Tolerance can begin within days to a couple of weeks, and both physical and psychological dependence can develop within weeks of regular use. This is precisely why UK guidance caps courses at two weeks and preferably under one. The risk is higher in people with a history of drug or alcohol misuse, in whom manufacturers advise extreme caution. If you have been taking zopiclone for more than a few weeks, do not stop abruptly. Speak to your prescriber about a gradual, stepped dose reduction, which is far easier alongside CBT-I than on its own.
What happens when zopiclone stops working?
That is tolerance, and it is the expected pharmacology rather than something unusual about you. Increasing the dose restores the effect briefly and worsens the underlying position, and UK guidance is explicit that if one hypnotic has not worked another should not simply be substituted. The more useful question at that point is what is actually maintaining the insomnia. For anything lasting three months or more the answer usually involves the learned behaviours and beliefs that CBT-I is designed to address, or an untreated driver such as sleep apnoea, reflux, pain, menopause, anxiety or depression.
What is rebound insomnia?
Rebound insomnia is sleep that is temporarily worse after stopping zopiclone than it was before you started. It is the single biggest reason people stay on sleeping tablets for years, because it feels like proof that the medicine is still needed. It is not. Rebound is a withdrawal effect and it settles over days to a couple of weeks. Other withdrawal effects can include anxiety, restlessness, irritability, tremor, sweating, palpitations and nausea, and rarely confusion or seizures after prolonged high-dose use. Knowing rebound is coming is most of what it takes to get through it.
Who should not take zopiclone?
It is contraindicated in severe obstructive sleep apnoea, respiratory failure, marked neuromuscular respiratory weakness, myasthenia gravis, severe liver impairment, and in anyone who has previously had complex sleep behaviours such as sleepwalking on zopiclone. UK guidance is also not to prescribe hypnotics to older people, or in pregnancy or breastfeeding. Caution applies with a history of drug or alcohol misuse, depression or other psychiatric illness, chronic lung disease, muscle weakness, liver or kidney impairment, and for anyone who drives, works at height or operates machinery.
Can you drink alcohol with zopiclone?
No. Both depress the central nervous system and the combination is more than simply additive: it increases sedation, raises the risk of breathing problems, and substantially increases the likelihood of complex sleep behaviours such as sleepwalking and of memory loss. There is a further problem worth naming. Alcohol is one of the most common self-treatments for insomnia and one of the worst, because it shortens the time to fall asleep and then fragments the second half of the night. Using both a nightcap and a sleeping tablet means two things working against sleep quality plus one serious interaction.
Can I buy zopiclone online in the UK?
Not without a prescription. Zopiclone is both a prescription-only medicine and a Schedule 4 controlled drug, so any UK-facing website offering it without a consultation and a prescriber's assessment is operating illegally, and what such sites supply is not a UK-regulated medicine. Counterfeit z-drugs are a well-documented problem, with content ranging from nothing at all to entirely different and considerably more dangerous substances. Access Doctor does not supply zopiclone. To check any UK online pharmacy, look for a GPhC registration number and verify it on the General Pharmaceutical Council register.
Is zopiclone or zolpidem better?
Neither is straightforwardly better; they are close relatives with the same limits. Both are z-drugs acting on the GABA-A receptor, both are Schedule 4 Part 1 controlled drugs, and both are capped at two weeks by UK guidance for the same reasons of tolerance and dependence. Zopiclone characteristically causes a metallic taste, which zolpidem does not. The recommended gap before driving differs: at least 12 hours for zopiclone, and at least 8 hours between zolpidem and any skilled task. Importantly, guidance says that if one hypnotic has not worked, the other should not simply be prescribed in its place.
Access Doctor does not supply zopiclone. These are the licensed sleep treatments available following an online consultation reviewed by a prescriber.
Insomnia · Rx
Quviviq (Daridorexant) 50mg
For long-term insomnia where CBT-I has been tried and has not worked. No tolerance seen in trials.
View product →Insomnia · Rx
Circadin 2mg Prolonged-Release Melatonin
For primary insomnia with poor sleep quality in adults aged 55 and over.
View product →References
- NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Insomnia: z-drugs prescribing information. Last revised June 2026. cks.nice.org.uk
- NHS. Zopiclone. nhs.uk
- Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary: zopiclone. bnf.nice.org.uk
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Guidance on the use of zaleplon, zolpidem and zopiclone for the short-term management of insomnia (TA77). 2004. nice.org.uk
- Home Office. Circular 008/2014: reclassification of tramadol, zopiclone and zaleplon as controlled drugs. 2014. gov.uk
- NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Benzodiazepine and z-drug withdrawal. cks.nice.org.uk
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Assessing fitness to drive: a guide for medical professionals. gov.uk
- General Pharmaceutical Council. Registers. pharmacyregulation.org
Medical disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment. In a medical emergency, call 999.