Exact Answer: 6-14 hours
Are you considering taking Ambien but are concerned about how long it will stay in your system? Ambien is a very popular prescription medicine to aid people to fall asleep, but it does come with well documented side effects as well as a history of people becoming addicted to it.
This is why some people want to understand how long it will take to leave their system, especially for those people who only want to use it once in a while instead of as part of a nightly routine.
How Long Does Ambien Stay in Your System
Typically, the drug stops working and is out of your blood in a range of anywhere between 6 – 14 hours, sometimes this is slightly higher based on personal factors to each individual. Once Ambien leaves your blood, you should not feel the effects of the drug anymore. However, different types of drug tests can detect that the drug was taken for different lengths of time.
How Long Will Drug Tests Show I Took Ambien
Saliva Test
This is the quickest to leave. A Saliva test would only show Ambien if taken within 15 to 30 minutes of taking the medication.
Blood Test
This is also a very short life. A blood test will only show Ambien if you take the test within the 6 – 14 hours it takes to leave the blood. In most cases, the prescription drug has left the blood by the time you awake the next morning.
Urine Test
In a urine sample, Ambien can be detected for up to 72 hours after the last dosage was taken. It is important to note that this is the most common way for someone to be tested for Ambien use.
Hair Sample
As with all drugs, the hair sample is the drug test where Ambien can be detected the longest. It can show up in this drug test for 4 – 5 weeks after use but for as long as 90 days.
What Factors Can Change The Variation Of Time
Each of the drug tests has a range of times. The reason they do not all just have one uniform answer is that each person’s body is different. Things like age, weight, sex, and metabolism can change the answer for each person. For instance, someone who weighs more will get rid of Ambien quicker as Ambien is water-soluble and people with higher fat content have less water in their body. Younger people tend to have a faster metabolism so they would get rid of the drug quicker than a middle-aged person.
Putting all the different factors together explains why each person metabolizes the drug at a different rate.
What is The Science Behind How Long It Takes
Ambien has a half-life of 2. This means every 2 hours after taking the drug, the plasma concentration left in the blood is reduced by half. This is why the blood test is listed between 6 – 14 hours depending on dosage and other personal factors.