Medications and their effects on sleep

Medications can appreciably affect the states of sleep and wakefulness by producing daytime somnolence or insomnia. In addition, their use can give rise to nightmares and abnormal behaviors during sleep. These effects canbe a primary therapeutic effect of the drug or be an adverse reaction. Knowledge of the common sleep effects of drugs is important in selecting therapy and averting adverse events. This article concentrates on three main effects of drugs: (1) hypersomnolence, (2) insomnia, and (3) abnormal behaviors in sleep or parasomnias.