To fight travel insomnia, take earplugs and eye shades. Check with your doctor if you think you need a prescription sleeping pill or want to try something homeopathic.

The Food and Drug Administration said it approved versions of the immediate-release tablets (of Ambien) made by 13 drug companies for the short-term treatment of insomnia. A patent held by Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis on the drug, also called zolpidem tartrate, expired Saturday.

Night owls also displayed the most erratic bedtime and wake-time habits, and were relatively more depressed and more frustrated by their insomnia. For example, the “owls” expressed more concern than the others about the consequences of insomnia and their inability to control sleep. They made up for such deficits by choosing to spend more time sleeping. In this way, they actually racked up more total sleep time than the other study participants.

Insomnia is becoming more common in our society, particularly in women. The one thing you have to realize is that all these medicines suppress your breathing. If you have sleep apnea, you do not want to take them because they can make your breathing more shallow. Unfortunately, the drugs we have are just short-term treatment options.

I suggest giving a trial period when you take a pill like ambien. You definitely don’t want to try it the night before you go on a trip. Having someone, either a spouse, significant other or friend to be there with you so they can look out for any possible side effects that may occur, especially in light of the recent news.

Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., had listed gaboxadol as one of three drug applications it planned to file this year, and called the termination “clearly disappointing.” As recently as two years ago, some Merck scientists had viewed the product as a potential blockbuster, possibly safer and as effective as sleeping medications currently on the market.