Sleep in nondepressed patients with panic disorder: II. Polysomnographic assessment of sleep architecture and sleep continuity.

This study assessed the EEG sleep of 16 patients with panic disorder who did not currently meet criteria for major depression in comparison to 16 age-comparable healthy controls. Patients with panic disorder had remarkably normal sleep, with only a modest reduction in total sleep time (374 +/- 46 min vs. 399 +/- 36 min) and delta sleep (11.4 +/- 6.2% vs. 16.4 +/- 6.6%) noted. Contrary to expectation, impairment in sleep maintenance and continuity was not found in the patients with panic disorder. We conclude (a) sleep in non-depressed patients with panic disorder is fairly unremarkable, and does not resemble that classically described for depressed patients, and (b) excessive arousability is not a characteristic feature of sleep in panic disorder.