Sleeping pill labels to get new warnings

Under pressure from the federal government, drug makers are revising the labels on Ambien, Lunesta and other popular sleep aids to warn that the pills may result in driving, eating and even having sex while sleeping, health officials said.

The manufacturers of 13 medications are preparing information bulletins for users that will highlight the possibility of bizarre nighttime side effects.

The Food and Drug Administration requested the action to discourage patients from taking higher-than-recommended doses or combining use with alcohol consumption. Dr. Russell Katz, director of the agency’s neurology division, said it had received more than a dozen reports of strange behavior.