drawal. A diagnosis of substance/medication-induced sleep disorder should be made
instead of a diagnosis of substance intoxicati on or substance withdrawal only when the
sleep disturbance is predominant in the clinic al picture and is suffi ciently severe to war-
rant independent clinical attention. 
Delirium. If the substance/medication-induced sl eep disturbance occurs exclusively dur-
ing the course of a delirium, it is not diagnosed separately. 
Other sleep disorders. A substance/medication-induced sl eep disorder is distinguished
from another sleep disorder if a substance/medication is judged to be etiologically related to
the symptoms. A su bstance/medication-induc ed sleep disorder attributed to a prescribed
medication for a mental disorder or medical co ndition must have its onset while the individual
is receiving the medication or during disconti nuation, if there is a discontinuation/with-
drawal syndrome associated with the medication. Once treatment is discontinued, the sleep
disturbance will usually remit within days to  several weeks. If symptoms persist beyond
4 weeks, other causes for the sleep disturbanc e–related symptoms should be considered. Not
infrequently, individuals with another sleep di sorder use medications or drugs of abuse to
self-medicate their symptoms (e.g., alcohol fo r management of insomn ia). If the substance/
medication is judged to play a significant role in the exacerbation of the sleep disturbance, an
additional diagnosis of a substance/medicati on-induced sleep disorder may be warranted. 
Sleep disorder due to an other medical condition. Substance/medication-induced sleep
disorder and sleep disorder associated with  another medical condition may produce sim-
ilar symptoms of insomnia, daytime sleepiness, or a parasomnia. Many individuals with
other medical conditions that  cause sleep disturbance are treated with medications that