A sub-chronic study of the subjective quality of sleep and psychological measures of performance on the morning following night time medication with temazepam

Abstract

A sub-chronic study of 7-chloro-2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1-methyl-5-phenyl-1H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one (temazepam, Euhypnos) at three dose levels was carried out in 30 healthy volunteers. A matching placebo was given before and after the 4 nights of active compound. The subjective response was measured by means of a sleep evaluation questionnaire, and the objective measurements used were the critical flicker fusion threshold and choice reaction time. A clear dose-response relationship was seen in the subjective and objective measurements with the three doses used. A rebound phenomenon was seen only at the high dose levels in two subjective measures, viz. getting to sleep and behaviour following waking.