Recently the FDA issued a startling warning that is still reverberating through the insomnia medication industry. The FDA warns popular insomnia drugs that promote sleep are causing sleepwalking, driving while asleep, and doing all kinds of things while not fully awake.

Millions of Americans suffer from insomnia, and many of them depend on sleep medications to get them through the night. Federal health officials have warned for years about the possible side effects, and now they’ve issued their strongest warning so far.

The FDA ordered that several popular types of prescription sleeping pills, including Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata, will now come with a prominent “black box” warning slapped on the box. The labels and patient guides will alert consumers to the possibility of some dangerous side effects.

Black box warnings are the FDA’s most prominent warning. The FDA said the three drugs affected by the warning — zolpidem, eszopiclone and zaleplon — should not be given to anyone who has experienced “complex sleep behavior” such as sleepwalking.

The FDA issued the new requirement after a safety review involving 66 cases in which patients engaged in activities resulting in serious injuries or death, such as sleepwalking or driving while not fully awake. The FDA says some suffered falls, burns, near-drowning, car crashes, or lost limbs after exposure to extreme cold temperatures. Of those cases, 20 people died.

“These incidents can occur after the first dose of these sleep medicines or after a longer period of treatment, and can occur in patients without any history of these behaviors and even at the lowest recommended doses,” FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless, M.D., said in a statement.

However, those of you who are suffering from lack of sleep and insomnia still need some sort of remedies to get the sleep. To get the required amount of sleep with the possible side effects, you can always try herbal options rather than the conventional sleeping pills.