You might want to post this as a new separate question, because people who have the answer may not find your question buried in this one -- just a thought.

Hi Jim,
Not sure what is meant by "excludes " REM, but I don't believe zolpidem or other sedative hypnotic medications exclude or eliminate REM.
That said, sleep medications, including zolpidem, usually have some effects on sleep stages, including REM, and are usually not recommended for long term use.
Hopefully you can discuss with your provider, med strategies, cognitive therapy, and what may help your situation.

I have been on the generic Ambien for the last 27 years. I have a cortisol issue where I can't go to sleep until late into the night and early morning. MY body clock is flipped. That is why I take it to have a normal life. I get plenty of REM stage sleep. I track my stages of sleep with a Fitbit watch. I get almost 21% of my sleep in the REM stage. I have problems getting deep sleep and have been working on that. I have found that if I go to bed between 10:30 and 11:00 PM I can get deep sleep. I have had to train myself to take my pill within 30 minutes of wanting to go to sleep. If I am not sleepy and stay up, then I get less deep sleep. If I go to bed even though I don't feel sleepy, I drop off. I get good sleep,p so I have accepted that this is just the way it is. I have no side effects except fighting that cortisol if I wake up earlier than 7:oo AM. I usually get on average 7 to 8 hours of good sleep.