The purpose of the study was to determine the hypnotic efficacy and residual effects of three hypnotics administered for the treatment of transient insomnia in the day- sleep of rotating shift workers. The average duration of day- sleep in rotating shift workers is 5 to 6 hours. Midazolam, triazolam and temazepam all possess short elimination half- lives, i., e. 2, 4 and 8 hours, respectively. This suggests that these drugs should be largely free from residual effects and therefore not impair performance in real- life tasks.
Abstract