Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004;6(Suppl 2):3-7.

Atypical antipsychotics: sleep, sedation, and efficacy

Del D Miller  1
Affiliations

Atypical antipsychotics: sleep, sedation, and efficacy

Del D Miller. Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2004.

Abstract

Patients with schizophrenia often suffer from sleep disturbances such as excessive sleeping and insomnia. Common medications for schizophrenia can have a sedative effect on patients. Not all antipsychotic medications have the same sedative effect, which is related to dosage and affinity for histamine H1 receptors. Studies have shown that, compared with conventional antipsychotics, atypical antipsychotics such as risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, and ziprasidone generally cause less sedation yet are as effective in controlling psychosis and agitation. Sedation can be troublesome to patients who are trying to become re-integrated into society and interfere with their treatment regimen. Both persistent sedation and chronic insomnia can be managed by the physician.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Affinity of Antipsychotic Medications for the Histamine H1 Human Brain Receptora
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Sedation Rates of Atypical Antipsychotics Compared With Placebo and Haloperidol
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mean Changes in Scores on the Positive Symptoms Factor of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scalea
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tandon R, Shipley JE, and Taylor S. et al. Electroencephalographic sleep abnormalities in schizophrenia: relationship to positive/negative symptoms and prior neuroleptic treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992 49:185–194. - PubMed
    1. Benson KL, Zarcone VP. Rapid eye movement sleep eye movements in schizophrenia and depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1993;50:474–482. - PubMed
    1. Yamashita H, Morinobu S, and Yamawaki S. et al. Effect of risperidone on sleep in schizophrenia: a comparison with haloperidol. Psychiatry Res. 2002 109:137–142. - PubMed
    1. Collaborative Working Group on Clinical Trial Evaluations. Measuring outcome in schizophrenia: differences among the atypical antipsychotics. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998 59suppl 12. 3–9. - PubMed
    1. Idzikowski C, Mills FJ, Glennard R. 5-Hydroxytryptamine-2 antagonist increases human slow wave sleep. Brain Res. 1986;378:164–168. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources