Psychomotor, pulmonary and exercise responses to sleep medication

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Pharmacology
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Athletes often seek sleep aids before competitions.
• Benzodiazepines are commonly used for sleep but may impair athletic performance.
• Understanding the specific effects of different benzodiazepines is crucial for athletes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effects of nitrazepam and temazepam versus placebo on athletic performance.
• To evaluate the impact of these benzodiazepines on sleep quality, psychomotor activity, lung function, and exercise capacity.
• To determine if nitrazepam or temazepam poses a greater risk to athletic performance.

Main Methods:

• A double-blind, double-dummy study involving 27 physical education students.
• Administration of nitrazepam (10 mg), temazepam (30 mg), or placebo for 9 nights with 2-week intervals.
• Assessment included sleep questionnaires, psychomotor tests (reaction time, flicker fusion), lung mechanics, and maximal exercise testing.

Main Results:

• Both nitrazepam and temazepam improved sleep quality, but nitrazepam caused a notable 'hangover' effect.
• Psychomotor activity and lung mechanics remained unaffected by either drug.
• On day 9, exercise performance was significantly lower with nitrazepam compared to temazepam and placebo.
• Heart rate increased significantly at all exercise levels with both drugs.

Conclusions:

• While benzodiazepines can improve sleep for athletes, they may have a small negative impact on performance.
• Temazepam appears to have a less detrimental effect on exercise capacity than nitrazepam.
• Athletes considering benzodiazepines for sleep should be aware of potential performance decrements, particularly with nitrazepam.