Pharmacological effects of sedative-hypnotics, narcotic analgesics, and alcohol during sleep.

This article briefly reviews the well known effects of sedative-hypnotics, alcohol and narcotics on sleep. These drugs also have respiratory depressant effects, and the limited information about their effects on sleep-related breathing disturbances is reviewed. They exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and have moderate to minimal effects on occasional apnea or hypopnea, but do not induce breathing disturbances de novo.