Vol. 5 No. 11 (2025)
Health Technology Reviews

Quetiapine for Insomnia

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Published November 17, 2025

Key Messages

Main Take-Aways

  • Evidence-based guidelines recommend against the use of quetiapine for the treatment of insomnia.
  • The findings of this review suggest that antipsychotics such as quetiapine should not be used in the treatment of insomnia.

What Is the Issue?

  • Quetiapine is an atypical or second-generation antipsychotic drug that is primarily used for treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Quetiapine extended-release is also indicated by Health Canada for the symptomatic relief of major depressive disorder when currently available approved antidepressant drugs have failed.
  • Decision-makers are interested in evidence on the clinical effectiveness, safety, and place in therapy of quetiapine relative to other medications for the treatment of insomnia.

What Did We Do?

  • We searched key resources, including journal citation databases, and conducted a focused internet search for relevant evidence published since 2020.

What Did We Find?

  • Evidence-based guidelines recommend against the use of quetiapine for the treatment of insomnia due to potential concerns about safety and lack of evidence of clinical benefit.

What Does It Mean?

  • Current evidence-based guidelines advise against prescribing quetiapine for the treatment of insomnia due to safety concerns and a lack of demonstrated clinical benefit.
  • The findings of this review suggest that antipsychotics such as quetiapine should not be used in the treatment of insomnia.