OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the effects of repeated treatments with the sedative antidepressants mirtazapine and trazodone on driving performance and cognitive function. METHODS Nineteen healthy men received continuous nocturnal doses of 15-mg mirtazapine , 25-mg trazodone, or placebo for 8 days in a double-blinded, three-way crossover trial. Subjects were asked to perform three dr...

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of idiopathic restless legs syndrome (RLS) and its correlations in a sample of Medical School faculty members. A transversal study was conducted at a Medical School in the south of Brazil included 78 faculty members. The subjects answered to a structured questionnaire specific to RLS diagnosis and the Epworth and the Stanford scales to measure ...

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to explore maternal actigraphically measured sleep, subjective sleep reports, and daytime functioning on the basis of current feeding method status during postpartum weeks 2 through 12. METHODS Objectively measured total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and fragmentation, subjectively reported numbers of nocturnal awakenings, total nocturnal wake time, and sleep quality...

OBJECTIVE Sleepiness and fatigue are conceptually distinct but pervasively confounded in research, measurement instruments, clinical settings, and everyday spoken language. The purpose of the present study was to construct two scales that represent unconfounded measures of sleepiness and fatigue, using widely used questionnaires. METHOD Four questionnaires purporting to measure sleepiness [St...

PURPOSE To identify the best screening measure of daytime sleepiness in adults with heart failure (HF). DATA SOURCES A total of 280 adults with HF completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, and a single Likert item measuring daytime sleepiness. The sensitivity and specificity of these self-report measures were assessed in relation to a measure of daytime dysfunctio...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with sleepiness, depression and reduced quality of life. However, it is unclear whether mild OSA has these negative impacts. Using data from the Apnea Positive Pressure Long-term Efficacy Study (APPLES), this study determined whether participants with mild OSA had greater sleepiness, more depressive symptoms and poorer qualit...

SLEEPINESS IS THE CRAVING OR DESIRE FOR SLEEP AND IS THE PHYSIOLOGICAL DRIVE THAT PROMOTES THE ONSET OF SLEEP1 AND REFLECTS THE BALANCE BETWEEN SLEEP DRIVE AND AROUSAL.2 The degree of sleepiness may be estimated objectively using the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT), which measures the time to sleep onset evident in the electroencephalogram.3 The MSLT has been used extensively to measure the ...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the contribution of driver sleepiness to the causes of car crash injuries. DESIGN Population based case control study. SETTING Auckland region of New Zealand, April 1998 to July 1999. PARTICIPANTS 571 car drivers involved in crashes where at least one occupant was admitted to hospital or killed ("injury crash"); 588 car drivers recruited while driving on public road...

No data are available in the literature assessing the potential use of waking electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the detection of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients with sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether waking EEG spectral power reflects the level of EDS in SRBD patients. The study was performed in 48 patients in whom qua...

Previous research has shown that both shift work and sleep deprivation have an adverse influence on various aspects of human cognitive performance. The aim of this study was to explore changes in cognitive functioning and subjective sleepiness of anesthesiology residents after a 24-hour shift. Twenty-six anesthesiology residents completed a set of psychological instruments at the beginning and ...