Medications and Sleep

Hours spent sleeping are critical to the proper functioning of our bodies during waking hours. Sleep is indeed essential for daily life. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep occurs about every one and a half to two hours during sleep, and makes up approximately one-quarter of overall sleep time. Non-REM sleep is divided into three stages. Stage 1 is the time transitioning from being awake to sleeping. During this stage, the lightest sleep, accounting for only about 5% of total sleep time, occurs. Stage 2 is intermediate sleep, which accounts for approximately half of total sleep time. Stage 3 is known as deep sleep.

A protective barrier for the brain, known as the blood brain barrier (BBB), regulates admission of substances into the brain. However, certain medications may cross the BBB, and in turn impact our sleep. Medications that influence the central nervous system (CNS) and may affect sleep include antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Doxepin (Silenor) is a type of tricyclic antidepressant that decreases the time it takes to fall asleep and decreases waking once asleep. Diazepam (Valium) and lorazepam (Ativan) are benzodiazepine medications that may be prescribed to treat insomnia or anxiety. These medications decrease the time it takes to fall asleep and also decrease the amount of time spent in the light sleep stage.





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