Skip to main content
Log in

Effects of flurazepam on sleep, arousal threshold, and the perception of being asleep

  • Original Investigations
  • Published:
Psychopharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the effects of flurazepam on arousal threshold and on quality of sleep during nights in which arousal threshold studies were performed. Ten patients with subjective insomnia received 30 mg flurazepam or placebo on nights in which arousal thresholds in response to electronic tones or a recording of the subjects' names were determined. Arousal thresholds differed across waking and sleep stages, but there was less difference in response to the subjects' names than to electronic tones. Flurazepam raised arousal thresholds to both stimuli, but did not selectively influence response in any individual sleep stage. Flurazepam did not alter subjects' estimates of elapsed time or duration of sleep between tests.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Antrobus JS, Saul HN (1980) Sleep onset: subjective, behavioral and electroencephalographic comparisons. Waking and Sleeping 4:259–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Association of Sleep Disorders Centers (1979) Diagnostic Classification of sleep and arousal disorders. Sleep 2:1–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnet MH, Webb WB, Barnard G (1979) Effect of flurazepam, pentobarbital and caffeine on arousal threshold. Sleep 1:271–279

    Google Scholar 

  • Carskadon MA, Dement WC, Mitler MM, Guilleminault C, Zarcone VP, Spiegel R (1976) Self-reports versus sleep laboratory findings in 122 drug-free subjects with complaints of chronic insomnia. Am J Psychiatry 133:1382–1388

    Google Scholar 

  • Engle-Friedman M, Baker EA, Bootzin RR (1985) Reports of wakefulness during EEG identified stages of sleep. Sleep Res 14:152

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartse KM, Karacan I, Thornby J, Williams RL (1981) Auditory arousal thresholds following administration of two benzodiazepines. Sleep 10:83

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartse KM, Thornby JI, Karacan I, Williams RL (1983) Effects of brotizolam, flurazepam and placebo upon nocturnal auditory arousal thresholds. Br J Clin Pharmacol [Suppl 2] 16:355S-364S

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson LC, Church MW, Seales DM, Rossiter VS (1979) Auditory arousal thresholds of good sleepers and poor sleepers with and without flurazepam. Sleep 1:259–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Marascuilo LA, McSweeney M (1977) Non-parametric and distribution-free methods for the social sciences. Brooks/Cole, Monterey, California, pp 1–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelson WB (1987) Human sleep: research and clinical care. Plenum Press, New York pp 181–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelson WB, Garnett D, Gillin JC, Weingartner H (1984) The experience of insomnia and daytime and nighttime functioning. Psychiatr Res 12:2325–2350

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelson WB, James SP, Garnett D, Sack DA, Rosenthal NE (1986) A psychophysiological study of insomnia. Psychiatr Res 19:267–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Oswald I, Taylor AM, Treisman M (1960) Discriminative responses to stimulation during human sleep. Brain 83:44–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Rechtschaffen A (1968) Polygraphic aspects of insomnia. In: Gastaut H, Lugaresi E, Cerone TB, Coccagna G (eds) The abnormalities of sleep in man. Gaggi, Bologna, p 109

    Google Scholar 

  • Rechtschaffen A, Kales A (1968) A manual of standardized terminology, techniques and scoring system for sleep stages of human subjects. US Department of HEW, NIH Publication no. 204, pp 1–64

  • Spinweber CL, Johnson LC (1982) Effects of triazolam (0.5 mg) on sleep, performance, memory, and arousal threshold. Psychopharmacology 76:5–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams RL, Karacan I, Hursch CJ (1974) The EEG of human sleep. Wiley, New York, pp 55–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson WP, Jung WWK (1966) Attention, discrimination and arousal during sleep. Arch Gen Psychiatry 15:523–528

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mendelson, W.B., Martin, J.V., Stephens, H. et al. Effects of flurazepam on sleep, arousal threshold, and the perception of being asleep. Psychopharmacology 95, 258–262 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174520

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00174520

Key words

Navigation