Poor sleep is a common complaint, accounting for 4 - 5% of all general
practitioner consultations. Disorders of initiating sleep are overrat
ed by patients compared with disorders of maintaining sleep, despite t
he greater effect of the latter on daytime performance. There is frequ
ently a discrepancy between subjective observations and objective meas
urements of sleep. General practitioners should pay attention to sleep
disorders lasting more than three weeks and should bear in mind that
poor sleep is a symptom, the underlying cause of which needs to be det
ermined. Good coordination of endogenous biorhythms and external life
and working circumstances can positively influence sleeping patterns.
Sleep onset latency determines the amount of deep sleep and, thus, the
duration and stability of core sleep. General practitioners usually p
rescribe a single type of benzodiazepine drug with a half-life of 5 -
10 h for sleep disorders. Such drugs cause the patient to fall asleep
quickly, to have a considerable period of uninterrupted sleep with lit
tle waking and to wake in the morning with a subjective feeling of hav
ing slept well. A number of less desirable changes can occur, however,
that may produce, for example, anxiety dreams, increased snoring and
sleep apnoea periods at night, and weakness of muscles during the day.
The third generation of hypnotic agents produce less undesirable chan
ges than the second generation. Zolpidem (an imidazoypridine), one suc
h agent, seems to provide an effective treatment for insomnia without
inducing undesirable side-effects.