Most general practitioners try to address sleep with non-pharmacological methods- suggesting lifestyle adjustments, sleep hygiene, or brief self-help tools- first before considering medication. When hypnotics are prescribed, it’s often seen as a reluctant compromise. General practitioners are wary of habit formation, side effects, or simply not being effective long term. In addition, growing regulatory scrutiny over hypnotics (like benzodiazepines and Z-drugs) is pushing prescribers toward shorter courses and stricter criteria. All of this suggests a potential future shift towards “de-pharmaceuticalisation”.