When should I take Sertraline?

May 16, 2023 12:39 PM

Should I take my antidepressant meds in the morning or evening? I'm having sleep trouble for the last month or 2, after getting great sleep for a while. I slightly increased my dose of Sertraline - generic Zoloft - from 20 to 25 mg. Tiny dose changes do affect me.

No changes in my 2 - 3 cups (actual 8 oz) of coffee per day, ideally before noon, always before 2:30. I'm able to get 8 hours of interrupted sleep with edible weed in low doses, but would prefer not to use meds. Life is no more or less stressful than usual. I don't feel sleepy, but make myself go to bed by 12.

posted by theora55 to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

Evening was recommended to me by my Dr. I don't take Sertraline anymore but used to take it at 6.

In case it's helpful, I recently found this magnesium that allows me to sleep through the night (though my sleeping problems were more staying asleep than going to sleep).
posted by Eyelash at 12:48 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

One of my family members found that taking sertraline in the evening interfered with sleep (it made them shaky/restless). After discussing it with their doctor, they switched to taking it in the morning, which fixed that problem.

The doctor said many people find that sertraline makes them drowsy, so the usual recommendation is to take it in the evening. However, for some people it has the opposite effect, and morning is better for them.
posted by mbrubeck at 12:52 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Zoloft can be more activating than sedating. When I took it, I did best taking it first thing in the morning and limiting caffeine intake throughout the day in order to get good sleep. I could have some coffee, but I had to be more careful with it than before I was on the medication.
posted by theotherdurassister at 1:25 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Checked with a loved one who takes this and she said at night, just before bed was the best for her.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:38 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I found sertraline pretty activating and could only take it in the morning.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 3:56 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

For ten years, I worked mostly an early AM shift, beginning at 2 or 3 am. I'd go to bed by 7pm. I was splitting my sertraline dose 2/3 in the morning and 1/3 in the evening. I seldom have any caffine.

After retirement I have had difficulty with re-adjusting to sleeping through the night - roughly 9p-6a. I routinely wake up around 2-3am even though I am going to bed later. I switched taking all my sertraline to when I wake up in the morning and have had more uninterrupted night sleeps! I wish you well in your journey. May you sleep well tonight!
posted by tronec at 5:01 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I take mine at night before bed. When I tried switching to mornings for a few weeks I found myself groggy & less well-rested. For me it seems to be mildly sedating, not activating.
posted by needs more cowbell at 5:41 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

For me it helps curb rumination like nothing else, so I take it at night because then I’m not lying in bed for hours pondering the horrors. Could you try a month with a morning dose and a month with an evening dose to compare, or would that be too disruptive? Also consider it may be the increased daylight (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) and maybe something like sunglasses during the day and a cooler bedroom might do the trick, too.
posted by Mizu at 6:03 PM on May 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

I had similar issues with lexapro, which does give me a drowsy period when I take it in the mornings too. So I started taking it at my 3am pee-time (which occasionally runs as late as 5am, in any case I take it and go back to sleep and generally sleep through the drowsies), which seems to work pretty well.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:26 AM on May 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

According to my doctor, when I asked him, you should take it at whatever time of the day you are least likely to forget. While I slept a lot generally when I first started taking it, I haven't noticed a drowsiness factor immediately after taking it. I usually take mine at lunch, because that's been the easiest for me, routine-wise. I'm less likely to remember in the evenings and I don't always eat breakfast.
posted by Kurichina at 6:57 AM on May 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also a bedtime taker. I don't notice any impact on my sleep.
posted by briank at 7:09 AM on May 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

I used to take it in the mornings and found that it aggravated Restless Leg Syndrome at night, which is why I stopped taking it.

Reading other responses, it's clearly very much a YMMV situation. In that case, I'd take it at the time I'm least likely to forget to start out with, then switch over if I felt the need.
posted by guessthis at 7:50 AM on May 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Definitely a YMMV. The first time I took it, it was activating so I took it in the AM. The second time the opposite. And now I take it at night with no noticiable activation or drowsiness
posted by kathrynm at 4:24 PM on May 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: In researching this, I realized my ulcer might be caused by taking it without enough water. The when is unclear; trying to take it around noon. Sleep is still pretty random.
posted by theora55 at 5:38 PM on July 26, 2023