memory formation during clonazepam induced sleep?

Benzodiazepines reduce sleep latency - time from trying to sleep to actual sleeping - but increase REM latency - time taken to reach REM sleep - which reduces REM.

Moderate to long term benzodiazepine use causes rebound insomnia upon withdrawal.

It's not good for sleep. It's not good for dreams. It's good for knocking you out and that's about it (and rightfully so, it's a GABAA agonist like alcohol).

Also, with a half-life of over 24 hours, taking it at bedtime would lead to one waking up with plasma levels almost as high as peak - one would feel any side effects of clonazepam in the morning, and in the afternoon, and in the evening.

And with a half-life of that long, daily use will increase plasma levels, and tolerance will develop rather quickly, and effective dose will raise, and after a point, discontinuing use can lead to benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. Avoid daily use. After enough time on it, everyone has to taper off of it due to the physical addiction and the severity of withdrawal symptoms - withdrawal symptoms that are alleviated by continuing benzo use. Some people just get right back on it and then some... but have lower-dosage taper prescriptions... and end up burning through a week's worth of pills in a day just to escape withdrawal. And at that point, they're full-blown 'I need this shit to survive' psychologically addicted and entirely out of supply. Becoming a drug addict by duress isn't a fun experience.

I was actually prescribed that stuff for over a year, for pretty bad vertigo caused by ear surgery (don't ask why I still have 300 of the fuckers, I don't even know... After suffering through withdrawals and knowing this is the magic bullet, I just keep them around but never take them... Just in case I ever have to feel those things again. That's how horrible withdrawal is. Very 'addict-y', I agree), but the shit is bad. Trust me. Maybe once a week is cool, but don't fall into daily use, unless you really really need it.

/r/StackAdvice Thread