Abstract
Almost everyone may experience insomnia at one time or other. Long latitudinal trips by air, for example, nearly always disturb the traveler's sleeping pattern for a few days to a week or longer. More serious to the person involved is the problem of chronic insomnia, which, unfortunately, may have an iatrogenic origin. In this issue ofThe Journal(p 514) Kales et al report studies, in a sleep laboratory, on ten patients who had been taking hypnotic drugs for periods ranging from months to years. In spite of their continued use of the drugs, the patients' insomnia persisted. Their sleep patterns while taking their accustomed doses of hypnotics were compared to the sleep patterns of 15 other insomniacs who were not taking hypnotic drugs. The percentage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep was significantly lower in most of the drug users than in the control insomniacs. Also, more of the
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
