Quick Answer: Zopiclone is Canada's most-prescribed sleep medication, a prescription hypnotic sold as Imovane and several generics. It is approved for short-term insomnia only, usually 7 to 10 consecutive days, per the Canadian product monograph. It helps you fall asleep faster but carries next-day impairment and dependence considerations your pharmacist will review.
Zopiclone is a prescription sleep medication in the cyclopyrrolone family, known to most Canadians by the brand name Imovane and to pharmacists as a "Z-drug." In Canada, zopiclone comes as 5 mg and 7.5 mg tablets and is approved for the short-term treatment of insomnia: trouble falling asleep, night wakings, or early-morning wakings that impair your day. Mattress Miracle is a family-owned sleep store in Brantford, Ontario, not a pharmacy, and this guide exists because customers ask about zopiclone constantly and the official documents are 40 pages long. Everything below comes from the Canadian product monograph and Health Canada safety communications, translated to plain language. Your own prescriber and pharmacist always get the final word.
"We hear about zopiclone weekly in the showroom, usually from someone who wants off it and hopes a better bed will help. What customers describe most is the metallic taste, and the surprise that it was only ever meant for a week or two. I never give medication advice, that is a pharmacist's job. What I tell people is to have the honest conversation with their doctor about what the sleep problem actually is, because a pill and a mattress fix different problems."
Brad Grose, founder, Mattress Miracle, family owned in Brantford since 1997, with 40+ years in the mattress industry
A Z-drug is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic that works on the same brain receptor system as benzodiazepines (the GABA-A receptor) but with a different chemical structure. Zopiclone, approved in Canada decades ago, remains the most dispensed sleep prescription in the country.
In This Guide
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What is zopiclone used for?
Zopiclone is approved in Canada for one job: short-term treatment of insomnia in adults. The product monograph is specific about "short-term": treatment should usually not exceed 7 to 10 consecutive days, and use beyond 2 to 3 weeks calls for a complete re-evaluation by your doctor. That restriction surprises many people, because real-world prescriptions often run longer. The UBC Therapeutics Initiative's 2025 review of zopiclone prescribing in British Columbia found exactly that pattern and urged prescribers back toward short courses paired with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, the first-line treatment our Insomnia Help hub covers in depth.
How zopiclone works
Zopiclone binds to GABA-A receptors, the brain's main braking system, and enhances the calming signal. The practical result: most people fall asleep faster and wake less through the front half of the night. It is classed as a hypnotic with sedative, anxiolytic and muscle-relaxant properties, and it is short-acting, with effects designed to centre on the night itself. Two experiences define it for most users: it works quickly, so the monograph says take it immediately before bed, and a majority of users report a bitter or metallic taste that can linger into the next day, the single most common complaint. The full side effect picture, from taste to memory effects to the rare complex sleep behaviours, lives in our companion guide to zopiclone side effects.
Strengths in Canada: 5 mg and 7.5 mg
Canadian pharmacies dispense zopiclone as 5 mg and 7.5 mg tablets, and the 7.5 mg tablet is scored so it can be split to 3.75 mg. That half-tablet matters more than it looks: since 2014, the recommended starting dose in Canada has been 3.75 mg, not 7.5 mg, and seniors and people with liver or kidney impairment are generally advised to stay at the lower end. The full dosing rules, including who should not take it at all, are in our zopiclone dosage guide. Whether your bottle says Imovane, Teva-Zopiclone, Apo-Zopiclone or pms-Zopiclone, the medicine is the same molecule; our Imovane vs generic zopiclone explainer covers what actually differs.
The next-day impairment warning, plainly
Health Canada's safety review of zopiclone found that a 7.5 mg evening dose can impair driving up to 11 hours later, and that impairment can be present even when you feel fully awake. That evidence drove the 2014 move to a 3.75 mg starting dose. The practical rule from the label: do not drive or do anything requiring full alertness until you know how your dose affects you the next day. Nothing in this article is medical advice; decisions about starting, continuing or stopping zopiclone belong with your doctor and pharmacist.
The safety rules Health Canada added
Beyond next-day impairment, the monograph's key cautions are worth knowing before the pharmacy counter. Alcohol and other sedating drugs multiply zopiclone's effects and the combination is warned against. Dependence can develop, particularly with nightly use beyond the intended window, and stopping suddenly after extended use can bring rebound insomnia, which is one reason short courses are the design. Memory gaps and rare complex sleep behaviours (doing things while not fully awake) appear in the warnings, and seniors face higher fall risk. None of this makes zopiclone a bad medication; it makes it a short-term tool with a specific manual. If you have been on it long-term and want out, that conversation starts with your prescriber, never with an abrupt stop.
Zopiclone vs the alternatives Canadians actually get offered
The comparison customers ask about most is Dayvigo vs zopiclone (the full option-by-option rundown lives in our zopiclone alternatives guide). Dayvigo (lemborexant) is a newer Canadian option in a different class entirely, a dual orexin receptor antagonist that blocks wake signals rather than boosting the brain's brakes, and its Health Canada authorization covers both falling asleep and staying asleep without the 7-to-10-day framing. Sublinox, the sublingual form of zolpidem, is the other Z-drug on Canadian shelves; our Sublinox guide covers it. Off-label trazodone remains extremely common; see our trazodone for sleep guide. And the non-prescription ladder, melatonin, magnesium and behavioural treatment, is mapped in the Sleep Aids Canada hub. Which is right for you is precisely the question for your doctor; what this page can do is make that conversation faster.
What we see in Brantford
Mattress Miracle sits at 441 1/2 West Street, and the zopiclone conversations we hear share a shape: the prescription started during a rough patch, the rough patch ended, the pill stayed. When customers mention it, we suggest two things: book the medication review with their pharmacist, and separately, let us check whether the bed is sabotaging the sleep they are medicating for. Sometimes the 2 a.m. wake-up is pressure points, not brain chemistry. Call us at (519) 770-0001 and we will help sort which is which, honestly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is zopiclone the same as Imovane?
Yes. Imovane is the original brand name for zopiclone in Canada; Teva-Zopiclone, Apo-Zopiclone and pms-Zopiclone are generics of the same molecule at the same strengths. Differences come down to non-medicinal ingredients, appearance and price.
How long can you take zopiclone?
The Canadian monograph says treatment should usually not exceed 7 to 10 consecutive days, with re-evaluation required past 2 to 3 weeks. Many Canadians use it far longer in practice, which is exactly what recent prescribing guidance is trying to reverse. If that is you, ask your prescriber about the plan rather than stopping abruptly.
Does zopiclone knock you out immediately?
It is fast-acting, which is why the label says take it right at bedtime with 7 to 8 hours available for sleep. It shortens the time to fall asleep; it does not guarantee unbroken sleep to morning, and the short half-life means early-morning waking can still happen.
Can a mattress store give me advice about zopiclone?
No, and Mattress Miracle will not try. Medication questions belong with your doctor and pharmacist. What our Brantford team can do is the sleep-environment half: check whether discomfort, heat or partner motion is driving the wake-ups you are treating, because that part has a non-prescription fix.
Visit Our Brantford Showroom
Mattress Miracle
441 1/2 West Street, Brantford
Phone: (519) 770-0001
Hours: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thu-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-4
Treating your sleep with one hand and fighting your mattress with the other? Come let us check the non-prescription half, no pressure, no commission.
Related Reading
- Is zopiclone addictive? Dependence, withdrawal and the way off
- Magnesium bisglycinate for sleep: what the evidence says
- Melatonin for sleep in Canada
- Sleep hygiene: the foundations
Sources
- Imovane (zopiclone) Product Monograph, Sanofi-Aventis Canada: pdf.hres.ca
- Health Canada Summary Safety Review, Imovane and next-day impairment: dhpp.hpfb-dgpsa.ca
- Health Canada advisory, new zopiclone dosage recommendations (2014): healthycanadians.gc.ca
- UBC Therapeutics Initiative, Letter 158: Improving how we prescribe zopiclone and trazodone for insomnia (2025): ncbi.nlm.nih.gov