The Cleveland Clinic offers six tips on how to use sleeping pills safely to treat insomnia.

Sleep aids increase drowsiness, but it’s a bad thing if you stay sleepy during the day. “Sleep aids work by activating the sleep centers in the brain and turning off the wake centers,” Dr. Vensel-Rundo says. The medication should help you fall asleep and stay asleep longer, but it shouldn’t knock you out. If you have significant difficulty waking in the morning, tell your doctor.