Buspirone: an anxiolytic without sedative effect.

Twelve volunteers with a complaint of chronic insomnia participated in a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study of the effects of buspirone t.i.d. on sleep pattern and daytime function. The drug was tested alone and in combination with flurazepam or triazolam. Buspirone alone did not impair objective measures of daytime wakefulness or performance. Impaired alertness was seen the day after bedtime administration of flurazepam but not after triazolam; buspirone did not alter these effects. Buspirone did not affect the Multiple Sleep Latency Test, a sensitive measure of changes in daytime alertness.