Combined effects of midazolam and ethanol on sleep and on psychomotor performance in normal subjects

A study was carried out on the effects of midazolam 15 mg in conjunction with ethanol 0.5 g/kg on objective and subjective sleep parameters and psychomotor performance in normal subjects. Midazolam significantly decreased total wake time. Total sleep time (TST) increase was related to larger amounts of stage 2 NREM sleep. Ethanol showed similar effects on sleep, although TST increase was associated with nonsignificant increments of NREM sleep and REM sleep. Ethanol slightly potentiated midazolam effects on sleep. Accordingly, total wake time, REM sleep time and number of wakes showed further depression than with midazolam alone. Subjective evaluations showed relatively good correlation with sleep laboratory findings. In addition, the different treatments did not impair subject's psychomotor performance the morning after their administration.