If I take a sleeping pill in 5 minutes, will I be able to wake up in 6 hours or will I be knocked out for a longer period of time?
You will wake up fine, but you will be drowsy.
Depends on the sleeping pill, your own medical history, whatever other meds or drugs you may have on board, etc.
The OP should read some of the other threads we’ve had on sleep meds, narcotics, Nyquil, and all the rest. Some people aren’t affected at all, some sleep for 12 hours and are drowsy another 12. If there ever were a case of “everyone’s different” this is it.
As Qadgop said, depends on the pill, what other medications you are on, and your own personal health history. Since I don’t know anything about you, I can’t give you any advice, or other information on you particularly… However, here is some information on common sleeping medications.
First, there are the prescription medications, like Zolpidem (Ambien). Immediate release Zolpidem has a half life of approximately two and a half hours in a healthy adult. For someone who has to be up in 6 hours, a normal dose of 10mg would probably not be a good idea, however you can try cutting the pill in half to take 5mg (only do this if it is IR, don’t cut a CR pill).
I’m going to not bother with Eszopiclone (Lunesta) since honestly, it’s not that popular since Ambien went generic.
Then there is pretty much the only OTC sleep aid, Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Unisom, and all the PM analgesics). The normal dose as a sleep aid is 50mg, and it has a duration of action of approximately 4 to 6 hours, with maximum sedation effect between 1 and 3 hours after administration… Again, I would be on the safe side, and take only 25mg for someone who has to be up in 6 hours.
Now, this information is based on Population parameters, not on you personally… So, if you use this information, and oversleep, and are late to whatever you need to do, you can’t blame me, the SDMB, any moderators here, or for that matter, anyone but you.