# Is drowsiness from a pill/med just a side effect, or do you have to rest to get effect?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowsiness-from-a-pill-med-just-a-side-effect-or-do-you-have-to-rest-to-get-effect/812614>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 18, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowsiness-from-a-pill-med-just-a-side-effect-or-do-you-have-to-rest-to-get-effect/812614 "2018-04-18T04:55:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![squish7](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squish7/32/104_2.png) [@squish7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squish7)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowsiness-from-a-pill-med-just-a-side-effect-or-do-you-have-to-rest-to-get-effect/812614/1 "2018-04-18T04:55:00Z")

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Okay I know this is often dependent on the specific medication, but let’s just say in general on average, if you take a medication and experience drowsiness as a side effect, is it useful or even necessary to rest a little–that is to experience that drowsiness–to get the full effect of the medication, OR, can you just drink a lot of coffee or take stimulants (prescribed!) to counter the drowsiness while still getting the full main effect of the medication while fully awake/caffeinated/stimulated?

Any specific medications or categories of meds or personal experiences that you specifically think falls into one or the other of these categories? Thanks gang!

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**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowsiness-from-a-pill-med-just-a-side-effect-or-do-you-have-to-rest-to-get-effect/812614/2 "2018-04-18T05:50:18Z")

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I often take benadryl for allergies because it works for me better than other allergy meds. But it makes me drowsy. If I have to take it during the day, I counteract the drowsiness with caffeine, but it is still effective at reducing/eliminating my allergy symptoms. So in this case, it’s just a side effect.

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**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-drowsiness-from-a-pill-med-just-a-side-effect-or-do-you-have-to-rest-to-get-effect/812614/3 "2018-04-18T12:05:39Z")

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It’s nearly always a side effect, although some combo pharmaceuticals (like those cold & flu elixirs) deliberately include things that will help you sleep as part of their cocktail of medicines.

Pre-op injections in the hospital (another cocktail) includes Phenergan, which is thought of as an anti-emetic (keeps you from vomiting ) but it doesn’t hurt at all that it’s a sedative and helps make you sleepy. So it’s both a side effect _and_ a direct situationally helpful effect for a person who is about to undergo anesthesia.