A Commonly Used Sleep Aid May Have a Dangerous Side Effect
ScienceAlert • • health
Key Points:
- New research indicates that quetiapine, an antipsychotic drug often prescribed off-label for insomnia, may impair next-day attention and reaction times despite improving sleep quality in people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- In a small clinical trial of 15 OSA patients, quetiapine increased sleep duration and reduced awakenings but significantly slowed reaction times and worsened simulated driving performance the following morning.
- Participants did not always feel sleepy despite impaired function, posing safety risks, especially for activities like driving, highlighting a disconnect between subjective alertness and actual performance.
- Researchers caution against routine use of quetiapine for sleep in people with known or possible sleep apnea and call for tighter regulation and more tailored treatments for OSA.
- Further studies with larger samples and longer duration are needed to understand the long-term effects of quetiapine on sleep and daytime function in OSA patients.