Abstract
This paper reports on the effects of long-term administration of chlordiazepoxide (CDX) (50 mg per day at bedtime) on normal young males. The effects on laboratory sleep, home sleep, and mood were investigated.
CDX produced an immediate increase in sleep time, but this returned to placebo levels after 2–3 days. Slow-wave sleep (stages 3 and 4) was normal for the first few days, but then showed a great decrease and remained significantly low throughout the period of drug administration, and for the first week after discontinuation. D-time similarly is not greatly affected for the first days, but is then decreased for the remainder of the four weeks on medication. During the period when both slow-wave sleep and D-time are decreased, stage 2 sleep is greatly increased. CDX produced little effect on mood; subjective “quality of sleep” was judged better on CDX than on placebo by these subjects.
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This work was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant # MH 14520.
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Hartmann, E., Cravens, J. The effects of long term administration of psychotropic drugs on human sleep: VI. The effects of chlordiazepoxide. Psychopharmacologia 33, 233–245 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423058
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00423058