ON THE PHARMACOLOGY OF DREAMING SLEEP (THE D STATE)

Abstract

The sleep pattern of young human adults consists of a regular cyclic recurrence of dreaming sleep (D) and S (nondreaming sleep) periods about every 90 min. Normally 100 min. or 20 to 25% of the night''s sleep in spent in the D state. Pharmacological studies attempted to investigate the effect of drugs on the night''s sleep-dream pattern. The 1st night was atypical since the effect of laboratory study and that of taking a pill for the 1st time tended to reduce both total sleep time and D time during the 1st night. In the majority of cases drugs decrease D time; this is true of barbiturates, phenothiazines and the majority of sedatives, hypnotics and antidepressants (chloral hydrate, ethyl alcohol, atropine, meprobamate, amphetamines, monamine oxidase inhibitors, imipramine, etc.) A normal night''s sleep with approximately normal D time was secured after administration of caffeine, gamma-butyrolactone and the benzodiazepines. D-time is lengthened by reserpine, tryptophane and LSD [lysergic acid diethylamide].