ABSTRACT
Drug-induced sleepiness is perhaps the most commonly reported side-effect of pharmacologic agents active on the central nervous system (CNS): the 1990 Drug Interactions and Side Effect Index of the Physicians’ Desk Reference lists drowsiness as a side-effect of 584 prescription or over-thecounter (OTC) preparations.3 Unfortunately the terminology describing daytime sleepiness, generally considered to be ‘the subjective state of sleep need’, is poorly defined, interchangeably including such contextual terminology as sleepiness, drowsiness, languor, inertness, fatigue, and sluggishness. The results of questionnaires and cognitive and performance tests for daytime sleepiness correlate only loosely with the actual effects of sleepiness on
This chapter is an updated, rewritten version of a paper entitled Medications and their effects on sleep. Primary Care: Clin Office Pract 2005; 32: 491-509.
