A repeated dose comparison of three benzodiazepine derivatives (nitrazepam, flurazepam and flunitrazepam) on subjective appraisals of sleep and measures of psychomotor performance the morning following night‐time medication

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Abstract
Repeated doses of 5 mg nitrazepam, 15 mg flurazepam and 1 mg flunitrazepam improved subjective assessments of the ease of getting to sleep and the perceived quality of induced sleep in a population of 30 healthy volunteers. The subjective reports of improved sleep inducement were related to a perceived difficulty in awakening from sleep the morning following medication. This subjectively reported hangover was also shown in the impairment of mental arithmetic abilities, as measured on the serial subtraction of sevens technique. Complex psychomotor performance was unaffected by repeated administration of these 3 benzodiazepine derivatives, although these later results were somewhat equivocal. Evidence of a rebound phenomenon following 4 nights'' withdrawal of active medication was shown in both subjective and objective measures of sleep and early morning behavior.