Drug & supplement interaction

Beer + Indiplon

Indiplon brand name: Indiplon.

Major Interaction
The bottom line Major

Beer has a major interaction with Indiplon. Concomitant use may increase sedative and other adverse effects.

Read the full interaction report
SeverityMajor
LikelihoodLikely
EvidenceC
What do Severity, Likelihood & Evidence mean?
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Interaction report

Beer and Indiplon

Here is the interaction we found between these two, with the evidence behind it.

Major

CNS DEPRESSANTS

Why this applies to Indiplon

Indiplon falls under CNS DEPRESSANTS — the group Beer interacts with.

Concomitant use may increase sedative and other adverse effects.
Concomitant use of alcohol with CNS depressants can increase sedative and other adverse effects, potentially through inhibition of the metabolism of certain CNS depressants.
Severity Major Likelihood Likely Evidence C

Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Brian Staiger explains PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist

Indiplon is a sleep medication that calms the brain to help you fall asleep, much like a sedative does. Beer adds to that same calming effect. When you drink beer while taking indiplon, the two work together and can hit harder than either one alone. Alcohol can also slow down how your body breaks the drug down, letting more of it linger.

The practical result is too much sedation. You may feel very drowsy, dizzy, or foggy, have poor balance and coordination, and you could be at higher risk for falls, confusion, or slowed breathing. This combination is considered a serious one, so please don't mix beer with indiplon without talking to your pharmacist or doctor first.

References
  1. Fraser AG. Pharmacokinetic interactions between alcohol and other drugs. Clin Pharmacokinet 1997;33:79-90. PubMed

What These Ratings Mean

Every interaction above is graded three ways — here’s the key to each label.

Severity how clinically significant the interaction is
Major

Clinically significant. Avoid the combination, or use only under close professional supervision.

Moderate

Usually worth avoiding or managing — may need monitoring, a dose change, or timing apart.

Minor

Generally not serious. Be aware of it and mention it to your pharmacist.

Likelihood how strong the evidence is that the interaction actually happens in people
  • LikelyWell-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction.
  • ProbableInteraction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
  • PossibleInteraction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists.
  • UnlikelyInteraction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.
Evidence the quality of the studies behind the rating (graded A–D)
  • AHigh-quality meta-analysis (quantitative systematic review).
  • BCase-control study.
  • CConsensus.
  • DAnecdotal evidence.

These ratings are for information only. Never start, stop, or otherwise change your therapy before speaking with your provider.

Keep it in perspective

Beer Also Interacts With Other Medications

Beer has 653 major, 272 moderate known drug interactions in our database — the Indiplon one above is one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Beer

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Beer. Pick one to open its full report.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Indiplon

This page covers Beer only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Indiplon page lists 95 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: 1,4-butanediol (major), Activated Charcoal (major), Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (ghb) (major), Kava (major) and L-tryptophan (major).

By severity: 7 major · 73 moderate · 15 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Indiplon page

“Indiplon is a sleep medicine, which means nearly everything on this list pushes in the same direction: deeper sedation than you signed up for. Of the 95 supplement and herbal ingredients on file, 78 add their own sedative pull, and the seven rated major include alcohol in any form and kava.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Indiplon interaction page

How much people look this up

Where Beer and Indiplon Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Beer
Top 25%

#330 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Indiplon
Steady interest

#2,824 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Supplement

About Beer

What is Beer?

Beer
  • Social and recreational drinking
  • Relaxation
  • Heart health (popular belief)
  • Bone health (popular belief)
  • Source of antioxidants and B vitamins

Beer is an alcoholic beverage that contains some minerals, B vitamins, and plant compounds from hops and grain, but it is not a health supplement. Any possible benefits come only from light-to-moderate intake, and they are easily outweighed by the well-known harms of alcohol. The safest amount of alcohol for health is none, and beer should be avoided in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Read the full Beer monograph & all interactions
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Beer

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Beer — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

653Major
272Moderate
0Minor
1,904No known interaction
Major

653 interactions

Showing 60 of 653 major interactions — see all 653 on the Beer page.

Moderate

272 interactions

Showing 60 of 272 moderate interactions — see all 272 on the Beer page.

No interaction 1,904 drugs checked — show the list
Sources

Sources & How We Checked

Interaction details are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database. The medication overview comes from MedlinePlus.

Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists. See our data sources and editorial standards for how this information is built and checked.

Parts of this content are provided by the Therapeutic Research Center, LLC.

DISCLAIMER: Currently this does not check for drug-drug interactions. This is not an all-inclusive comprehensive list of potential interactions and is for informational purposes only. Not all interactions are known or well-reported in the scientific literature, and new interactions are continually being reported. Input is needed from a qualified healthcare provider including a pharmacist before starting any therapy. Application of clinical judgment is necessary.

© 2021 Therapeutic Research Center, LLC

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Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Beer and Indiplon Together: Common Questions

Can you take Beer with Indiplon?
This is rated a major interaction, so the combination is best avoided unless your doctor or pharmacist has specifically told you otherwise. Read the full details on this page and confirm with your pharmacist before combining them.
How serious is the Beer and Indiplon interaction?
We rate it Major. This is a clinically significant combination that is generally best avoided, or used only under the direct supervision of your physician or pharmacist.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.