Somnology
Pharmacological treatments are used to chemically treat sleep disturbances such as insomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness. The kinds of drugs used to treat sleep disorders include: anticonvulsants, anti-narcoleptics, anti-Parkinsonian drugs, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics, and opiates as well as the hormone melatonin and melatonin receptor stimulators. Anticonvulsants, opiates, and anti-Parkinsonian drugs are often used to treat restless legs syndrome. Furthermore, melatonin, benzodiazepines hypnotics, and non-benzodiazepine hypnotics may be used to treat insomnia. Finally, anti-narcoleptics help treat narcolepsy and excessive daytime sleepiness.
Effects of sleep deprivation on college students
In one study, a revised type of cognitive behavioral for treating insomnia was sent to participating students by email. The email contained an attachment addressing several aspects of sleep, such as techniques for relaxation and methods to stabilize the circadian rhythm. This method was compared to another program called Breathe which was created in order to reduce symptoms of depression and to cope with high stress. Participants in the Breathe program showed improvements in sleep quality and a decrease in depressive symptoms.While this study only had a small number of participants, the final results showed hope as an effective method that can help with sleep deprivation for college students.