The study couldn’t isolate Ambien specifically — researchers looked broadly across prescription and over-the-counter sleep medications but were unable to examine specific medication types due to sample size. Overall, frequent sleep medication users (at least five times a month) had nearly an 80 percent increased risk of developing dementia among white participants, though this shows association, not causation. Separately, the American Geriatrics Society considers Z-drugs like zolpidem inappropriate to prescribe to older adults.