ArticleSleep2025
Effect of chronic benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine receptor agonist use on sleep architecture and brain oscillations in older adults with chronic insomnia.
Article in Sleep, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of trazodone on polysomnographic sleep architecture in patients with depression and sleep disorders: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Evaluation of Therapeutic Effects and Underlying Mechanisms of Baichuan Baile Formula in Rodent Insomnia Models.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Linking Age Changes in Human Cortical Microcircuits to Impaired Brain Function and EEG Biomarkers.Aging cell · 2026Article
- Sleep and neurocognitive performance in middle-aged Latina women in a rural agricultural community: insights from the CHAMACOS Maternal Cognition Study.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2026Article
- Perioperative sleep management in cardiac surgery: an evidence-oriented narrative review of pharmacological, behavioral, and respiratory support strategies.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Amyloid-Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Effects of lemborexant and zolpidem on sleep electroencephalography in older adults with insomnia: a randomized trial.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2026Article
- Exercise, cognition, and affective disorders.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Cognitive behavioral treatment for Sexsomnia (CBT-S). Case report and literature review.CNS spectrums · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
objectivesInsomnia in older adults is associated with widespread benzodiazepine (BZD) and benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) use despite evidence that chronic use disrupts sleep regulation and cognition. Little is known about BZD/BZRA effects on Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) slow oscillations (SO), spindles and their coupling, which is crucial for memory in older adults. Our objective was to investigate the effects of chronic BZD/BZRA use on sleep macro-architecture, electroencephalogram (EEG) relative power, SO and spindle characteristics and coupling.
methodsAfter habituation polysomnography, second-night data were analyzed from 101 participants (66.05 ± 5.84 years, range: 55-80 years, 73 per cent female) were categorized into three groups: good sleepers (GS, n = 28), individuals with insomnia (INS, n = 26) or individuals with insomnia who chronically use BZD/BZRA (MED, n = 47; diazepam equivalent: 6.1 ± 3.8 mg per use; >3 nights/week). We performed a comprehensive comparison of sleep architecture, EEG relative spectrum, and associated brain oscillatory activities, focusing on SO and spindles and their temporal coupling.
resultsMED showed disrupted sleep architecture with lower N3 and higher N1 duration and spectral activity and altered sleep-related brain oscillations synchrony, compared to INS and GS. An exploratory interaction model suggested that chronic use of higher doses (mg per use) correlated with more pronounced disruptions in sleep micro-architecture and EEG spectrum.
conclusionsOur results suggest that chronic BZD and BZRA use is associated with poorer sleep quality. Such alteration of sleep regulation-at the macro and micro-architectural levels-may contribute to the reported association between BZD/BZRA use and cognitive impairment in older adults. Statement of Significance Widespread use of sedative-hypnotics is driven by high insomnia rates among older adults. Chronic use can disrupt cognitive function; however, its impact on sleep regulation is not well understood. We assessed the effect of chronic benzodiazepine use in older adults using a between-group design involving good sleepers, drug-free individuals with insomnia disorder and individuals with insomnia disorder who chronically use sedative-hypnotics as a sleep aid. We performed a comprehensive comparison of sleep architecture, electroencephalogram relative spectrum, and associated NREM brain oscillations related to memory consolidation. We showed that chronic use of sedative-hypnotics is detrimental to sleep regulation-at the macro and micro-level-and this may contribute to the reported link between sedative-hypnotic use and cognitive impairment in older adults.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.