Effects of antipsychotic medications on sleep in schizophrenia
- 1 May 2008
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in International Clinical Psychopharmacology
- Vol. 23 (3), 150-160
- https://doi.org/10.1097/yic.0b013e3282f39703
Abstract
Schizophrenia is often accompanied by sleep problems. Evidence exists that these sleep difficulties have significant effects on individuals with this disorder. The mainstay of treatment for this condition is the administration of medications that have effects on neurotransmitter systems, which play an important role in sleep-wake function, including histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Little systematic attention, however, has been paid to how the sleep effects of these agents might play a role in the course of treatment, function and quality of life of schizophrenia patients. Schizophrenia medications can improve sleep problems and reverse the sleep architectural derangements that are common among patients with schizophrenia and, therefore, have the potential to improve the quality of life and functional capacity of the patient. Conversely, some sleep-wake effects of these medications can impair patient function and quality of life. In this study, we review the effects of schizophrenia medications and discuss their relevance to optimizing the clinical treatment of people with schizophrenia with regard to sleep-wake function.Keywords
This publication has 73 references indexed in Scilit:
- Specific executive dysfunction in patients with first-episode medication-naïve schizophreniaSchizophrenia Research, 2006
- Long-Term Treatment with Atypical Antipsychotics and the Risk of Weight GainDrug Safety, 2006
- The use of sleep measures to compare a new 5HT1A agonist with buspirone in humansJournal of Psychopharmacology, 2005
- Improved Sleep Continuity and Increased Slow Wave Sleep and REM Latency During Ziprasidone TreatmentThe Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2005
- Treatments for schizophrenia: a critical review of pharmacology and mechanisms of action of antipsychotic drugsMolecular Psychiatry, 2004
- Radioreceptor Binding Profile of the Atypical Antipsychotic OlanzapineNeuropsychopharmacology, 1996
- Slow-wave sleep and symptomatology in schizophrenia and related psychotic disordersJournal of Psychiatric Research, 1995
- Slow‐wave sleep deficits and outcome in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorderActa Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 1995
- Clinical profile of clozapine: Adverse reactions and agranulocytosisPsychiatric Quarterly, 1992
- Effects of methoxamine, an alpha-1 adrenoceptor agonist, and prazosin, an alpha-1 antagonist, on the stages of the sleep-waking cycle in the catActa Physiologica Scandinavica, 1984