Ebook: The Use and Misuse of Sleeping Pills: A Clinical Guide

Hypnos (the Greek god of sleep) and Thanatos (death) were the twin sons of Nyx, the goddess of night (Fox, 1964). Hypnos lived in a dusky valley in the land of the Cimerians, watered by Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. He brought sleep to both men and gods, and sometimes sent his sons Morpheus, Icelus, and Phantasus to appear in dreams. At the door of his abode grew poppies and other herbs which induce sleep (Hamilton, 1961). This book deals with these herbs and their subsequent imitations. Before launching into an examination of hypnotics, it might be well to comment briefly on the manner in which this was written, and to acknowledge the help of a number of individuals. My intention was that this be useful not only for the physician or scientist, but also for the student. Thus each chapter contains an introductory section which pro­ vides background material. Chapter 3, for instance, describes the general principles of drug absorption, distribution, and metabolism before dis­ cussing the pharmacologic properties of each hypnotic. In addition, each chapter concludes with a section which summarizes the main issues.

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Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xi
Basic Concepts about Sleep and Insomnia....Pages 1-23
The Prevalence of Sleep Disturbance and Hypnotic Use....Pages 25-37
Pharmacology of Prescription Hypnotics....Pages 39-61
The Efficacy of Hypnotics....Pages 63-84
Suicide and Hypnotics....Pages 85-99
Residual Daytime Effects of Hypnotics....Pages 101-114
Interactions with Ethanol....Pages 115-125
Hypnotic Dependence....Pages 127-139
Hypnotics and the Elderly....Pages 141-152
Other Pharmacologic Approaches....Pages 153-161
Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Insomnia....Pages 163-175
Conclusion: Implications for Medical Practice....Pages 177-185
Back Matter....Pages 187-220