Health · Pharma & Biotech · 1 hr ago
Lemborexant users report disturbing dreams and sleep paralysis
Researchers reviewed 260 online posts about lemborexant, a medicine used to treat insomnia.
The posts were published on Drugs.com from 2020 to 2023, and the medicine was approved in the United States in 2019.
Lemborexant works by blocking orexin, a brain chemical that helps keep people awake.
About one in four reviewers had stopped or planned to stop because of side effects that upset them.
Vivid dreams or nightmares were mentioned by 32%, while 22% mentioned sleep paralysis, in which a person wakes but cannot move or speak.
About 30% said their sleep improved significantly, but half reported little or no benefit.
The findings suggest the medicine can help some people but cause distressing effects for others; researchers said the effects may be linked to how it changes dreaming sleep.
A study of online reviews found that some lemborexant users reported disturbing dreams and sleep paralysis, leading some to stop taking the insomnia drug.
Researchers analyzed 260 reviews posted on Drugs.com between 2020 and 2023.
About 1 in 4 reviewers had stopped taking the drug or planned to because of distressing side effects.
Around 30% said their sleep quality improved significantly, while 50% reported few or no benefits.
The study is due to appear in the January issue of Sleep Medicine.
- Who
- Researchers analyzed reviews by people who used lemborexant, sold as Dayvigo.
- What
- A study found that some users reported disturbing dreams and sleep paralysis, and some stopped or planned to stop the drug.
- When
- The reviews were posted between 2020 and 2023. The article was published on November 3, 2026.
- Where
- The reviews were posted on Drugs.com.
- Why
- Researchers suggested the effects may be linked to the drug's blocking of orexin, which helps keep people awake.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Lemborexant was approved in the United States after clinical trials found it helped participants fall asleep faster and sleep longer than a placebo.
Researchers analyzed 260 lemborexant reviews posted on Drugs.com during this period.
Infobae published an article about the study's findings.
The study is due to appear in the journal Sleep Medicine.
- Reviews analyzed
- 260
- Review platform
- Drugs.com
- Review period
- 2020–2023
- Reported sleep paralysis
- 22% (56 people)
- Reported intense dreams or nightmares
- 32% (84 people)
- Reported at least one side effect
- 68%
What people are saying
One of the important messages from our study is that, according to the reviews, lemborexant worked very well for some people
What surprised us most was how disturbing certain side effects were for some patients
I felt I couldn't move, as if I were paralyzed. I wanted to scream, but no voice came out
The dreams [nightmares] are VERY vivid and that's why I stopped taking this medication