title: Insomnia pharmacology.
abstract: Insomnia is not only the most common sleep disorder in the population, it is a frequent complaint heard overall by primary care physicians and specialists alike. Given the high prevalence of this disorder, its tendency to persist, and the frequency with which patients complain of symptoms in practice, it is imperative to have an understanding of basic sleep-wake mechanisms and the evolving field of pharmacologic approaches to enhance sleep. Currently, pharmacologic approaches are among the most widely used therapies for insomnia. This article reviews sleep-wake mechanisms, the neuroanatomic targets for sleep and wake-promoting agents, and discusses currently used agents to promote sleep and investigational hypnotics.
authors.affiliation: Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, Redwood City, CA, USA. shannon.s.sullivan@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Shannon S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055553:Prescription Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects; D007319:Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D055553:Prescription Drugs