Researchers report popular benzodiazepine sleep medications, such as Ambien and Halcion, caused test subjects to sleep through fire alarm drills. However, a newly developed class of sleeping medications perverse the ability to wake in response to threat.
Researchers have identified neurons that appear to play a critical role in connecting sleep and emotions. The findings provide an important insight into the pathophysiology of insomnia and the role of orexin in arousal regulation. Researchers hope their findings will lead to new remedies for sleep disorders.