Abstract
The effects of triazolam (0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 mg) versus placebo on recovery sleep staging, subsequent alertness and psychomotor performance were evaluated in humans. Forty-five healthy male subjects were deprived of sleep for 24 h, then administered a single dose of triazolam or placebo using a double-blind procedure. Subjects then attempted to obtain recovery sleep under non-sleep-conducive conditions (sitting upright in a well-lit, crowded chamber) for the next 6 h, followed by 18 more hours of sleep deprivation. During all sleep deprivation periods subjects were tested bihourly on a performance assessment battery which included symbol digit modalities tests (SDMT), four-letter search (FLS), logical reasoning (LR), time estimation (TE), visual vigliance (VV), and short term memory (STM) tasks. Sleepiness levels were measured objectively with multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) and subjectively with the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS). Compared to placebo, all doses of triazolam resulted in increased amounts of stage 3–4 sleep, and the 0.5 mg dose significantly reduced awakenings (Ps<0.05). Although subjects receiving triazolam averaged 21–42 min more total sleep time (TST) than subjects receiving placebo, differences in TST were not statistically significant. Apparent triazolam-mediated benefits to sleep quality resulted in no obvious improvements in performance or alertness levels during subsequent sleep deprivation. It was concluded that the increases in stage 3–4 sleep amouts were most likely due to triozolam-mediated increases arousal thresholds, and the triazolam mediated changes in sleep parameters obtained in the present study were not indicative of substantial changes in the recuperative value of sleep.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bonnet MH (1985) Effect of sleep disruption on sleep, performance, and mood. Sleep 8:11–19
Bonnet MH (1986) Performance and sleepiness as a function of frequency and placement of sleep disruption. Psychophysiology 23:263–271
Bonnet MH (1987) Sleep restoration as a function of periodic awakening, movement, or electroencephalographic change. Sleep 10:364–373
Bootzin RR, Nicassio PM (1978) Behavioral treatments for insomnia. In: Hersen M, Eisler RM, Miller PM (eds) Progress in behavior modification, vol 6. Academic Press, New York, pp 1–45
Downey R, Bonnet MH (1987) Performance during frequent sleep disruption. Sleep 10:354–363
Hoddes E, Zarcone V, Smythe H, Phillips R, Dement WC (1973) Quantification of sleppiness: a new approach. Psychophysiology 10:431–436
Horne J (1988) Why we sleep. Oxford University Press, London New York, pp 180–215
Johnson LC, Naitoh P, Moses JM, Lubin A (1974) Interaction of REM deprivation and stage 4 deprivation with total sleep loss: experiment 2. Psychophysiology 11:147–159
Kales A, Tan TL, Kollar EJ, Naitoh P, Preston TA, Malmstrom EJ (1970) Sleep patterns following 205 hours of sleep deprivation. Psychosom Med 32:189–200
Kales A, Kales JD, Bixler EO, Scharf MB, Russek E (1976) Hypnotic efficacy of triazolam: Sleep laboratory evaluation of intermediate-term effectiveness. J Clin Pharmacol 16:399–406
Lubin A, Moses JM, Johnson LC, Naitoh P (1974) The recuperative effects of REM sleep and stage 4 sleep on human performance after complete sleep loss: experiment 1. Psychophysiology 11:133–146
Mitler MM, Seidel WF, Van Den Hoed J, Greenblatt DJ, Dement WC (1984) Comparative hypnotic effects of flurazepam, triazolam, and placebo: a long-term simultaneous nighttime and day-time study. J Clin Psychopharmacol 4:2–13
Nicholson AN, Stone BM (1980) Activity of the hypnotics flunitrazepam and triazolam in man. Br J Clin Pharmacol 9:187–194
O'Donnell VM, Balkin TJ, Andrade JR, Simon LM, Kamimori GH, Redmond DP, Belenky G (1988) Effects of triazolam on sleep and performance in a model of transient insomnia. Hum Perform 1:145–160
Rechtschaffen A, Kales A (1968) A manual of standardized terminology, techniques, and scoring system for sleep stages of human subjects. Brain Information Service/Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles
Richardson G, Carskadon MA, Flagg W, van den Hoed J, Dement WC, Mitler MM (1978) Excessive daytime sleepiness in man, multiple sleep latency measurement in narcoleptic and control subjects. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 45:621–627
Roth T, Kramer M, Lutz T (1976) Intermediate use of triazolam: a sleep laboratory study. J Int Med Res 4:59–63
Seidel WF, Roth T, Roehrs T, Zorick F, Dement WC (1984) Treatment of a 12 hour shift of sleep schedule with benzodiazepines. Science 224:1262–1264
Smith A (1973) Symbol digit modalities test manual. Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles
Spinweber CL, Johnson LC (1982) Effects of triazolam (0.5 mg) on sleep, performance, memory, and arousal threshold. Psychopharmacology 76:5–12
Thorne DR, Genser SG, Sing HC, Hegge FW (1985) The Walter Reed performance assessment battery. Neurobehav Toxicol Teratol 7:415–418
Vogel GW, Thurmond A, Gibbons P, Edwards K, Sloan KB, Sexton K (1975) The effect of triazolam on the sleep of insomniacs. Psychopharmacologia 41:65–69
Walsh JK, Muelbach MJ, Schweitzer PK (1984) Acute administration of triazolam for the daytime sleep of rotating shift workers. Sleep 7:223–229
Williams HL, Hammack JT, Daly RL, Dement WC, Lubin A (1964) Responses to auditory stimulation, sleep loss, and the EEG stages of sleep. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 16:269–279
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This material has been reviewed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and there is no objection to its presentation and/or publication. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the author and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the position of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Balkin, T.J., O'Donnell, V.M., Kamimori, G.H. et al. Administration of triazolam prior to recovery sleep: effects on sleep architecture, subsequent alertness and performance. Psychopharmacology 99, 526–531 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00589903
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00589903