"A new insomnia drug helped people get a bit more shuteye in a lab study researchers report. The drug known as suvorexant is being developed by Merck Research Laboratories which funded and conducted the study. The medication is not available yet but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing it for possible approval the researchers said. In the United States about  percent of people say they have chronic insomnia according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are sleep aids on the market but they do not work for everyone and they can have side effects that include sleepwalking daytime drowsiness and confusion. Suvorexant works differently from those drugs zeroing in on specific brain chemicals involved in the ability to sleep explained study author Dr. William Herring executive director of clinical research at Merck. The study published online Nov.  and in the Dec.  print issue of the journal Neurology included  healthy adults with primary insomnia which means it wasnt caused by an underlying physical or mental health problem. All of the patients spent four weeks on one of four doses of suvorexant and another four weeks on placebo pills. They had their sleep monitored in a sleep lab on their first night with each treatment and then came back again after four weeks. Overall Herrings team found people slept better with the drug although the improvement was not dramatic. At the outset when patients spent eight hours in bed they were typically asleep for  percent of that time. One day on suvorexant boosted that by anywhere from  percent to  percent relative to the placebo. Between  and  fewer minutes were spent awake during those sleep periods. There was still a benefit four weeks later. One expert pointed out however that the benefit was small. The amount of additional sleep was not tremendous said Dr. Carl Bazil director of the division of epilepsy and sleep at New YorkPresbyterian HospitalColumbia University Medical Center. The effect was essentially comparable to what has been seen with other sleep medications said Bazil who was not involved in the research. But he said suvorexant is seen as a potentially important development in the world of sleep medicine because the drug blocks specific brain chemicals called orexins which help keep people awake. Standard sleep medications work more widely throughout the brain Bazil explained which is why they can have a host of side effects. The way suvorexant works makes a lot of sense Bazil said. The hope is that it will help some people who havent responded to other drugs and have fewer side effects. Its promising news Bazil added that there were no serious side effects in this study. The most common side effects were sleepiness reported by about  percent of patients on the two higher doses of suvorexant headache reported by about  percent dizziness and abnormal dreams  percent. There are still many questions including whether the drug would benefit people with insomnia due to a health condition which doctors call secondary insomnia. The study also excluded adults aged  or older  an age group commonly affected by insomnia. But Herring said seniors were part of a larger month trial and Merck has submitted those results to the FDA. Another sleep specialist said the findings show some potential benefit from suvorexant but he cautioned insomnia sufferers against relying completely on any drug. Medication can be important said Dr. William Kohler who directs the Florida Sleep Institute in Spring Hill. But in the long run the best methods for treating insomnia are behavioral techniques. Kohler said cognitive behavioral therapy  where people learn to change the thoughts and habits that affect their sleep quality  is a proven way to manage insomnia. For most people he said medication should be a temporary treatment behavior change is the longterm fix. Bazil agreed I look at most people with insomnia as someone who developed bad sleep habits. A drug ideally used for a short time may help encourage sleep and get people on the right track Bazil said. But those bad sleep habits  youve got to address them too he added. The problem Kohler noted is that we dont want to make behavior changes. We want to pop a pill. More information Learn more about insomnia and good sleep habits from the National Sleep Foundation http SOURCES Carl Bazil M.D. Ph.D. director division of epilepsy and sleep New YorkPresbyterian HospitalColumbia University Medical Center New York City William Kohler M.D. medical director Florida Sleep Institute Spring Hill Fla. William Herring M.D. Ph.D. Merck Sharp  Dohme Corp. Whitehouse Station N.J. Dec.   Neurology"