A comparison of temazepam and flurazepam in terms of sleep quality and residual changes in performance.

This study compared the effects of single nightly doses of flurazepam 30 mg and temazepam 40 mg upon both the subjective assessment of sleep quality and performance on 3 tests of mental efficiency 10 h following medication. 12 male and 12 female non-smoker subjects took part, none of whom experienced sleep difficulties. In comparison with their respective placebos, both hypnotics produced marked and significant improvements in the quality, depth and duration of sleep, and reduced the difficulty that the female subjects experienced in getting to sleep. Flurazepam also produced a significant increase in satisfaction with sleep together with significant reductions in the number of awakenings during the night and the level of clearheadedness on waking. The major test of performance was a continuous 20-min rapid visual information processing task. It was found that for both sexes during each of the two consecutive 10-min periods of performance flurazepam produced highly significant residual impairments in both the speed of reaction and the accuracy of detection, while temazepam had no effect. Overall the results indicate that flurazepam produces a wider range of improvements in sleep quality than temazepam at the cost of less clearheadedness on waking and residual impairments in sustained rapid information processing.