Can’t Sleep? Here’s the Entire History of Sleeping Pills

Witty Historian · Oct 5, 2026 · 2h 8m

For generations, doctors have tried to find better ways to help people sleep. Early sedatives gave way to barbiturates, benzodiazepines and newer sleep medicines, with each era promising something safer, more precise or easier to live with than what came before. A two-hour history for sleep, exploring how sleeping pills changed medicine, insomnia and the way we think about sleep itself.