. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Feb 11.

Published in final edited form as: Oncol Nurs Forum. 2013 Jan;40(1):73–81. doi: 10.1188/13.ONF.73-81

Table 3.

Potential Sleep-Impairing Medications by Type

Medication	Potential Sleep Effects
Analgesic
Opioid analgesics	Somnolence, insomnia, restlessness, myoclonus
Muscle relaxants	Insomnia, drowsiness

Cardiovascular
Antihypertensives	Insomnia, decreased sleep continuity and rapid eye movement sleep, nightmares
Antilipidemic	Insomnia

Gastrointestinal
Prokinetic agents	Restlessness, insomnia, drowsiness, fatigue

Endocrine
Synthetic thyroxine	Insomnia, restless leg syndrome

Psychotropic
Sedatives	Somnolence, daytime drowsiness
Benzodiazepines	Somnolence, insomnia
Antidepressants (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)	Insomnia, decreased rapid eye movement, restless leg syndrome
Antipsychotic (atypical)	Somnolence
Central nervous system stimulant	Insomnia, restlessness

Respiratory
Antihistamines with or without decongestants	Somnolence, insomnia

Urologic
Urinary antispasmodics	Somnolence, insomnia
Alpha-adrenergic blockers or alpha reductase inhibitors	Somnolence, insomnia, fatigue