Sleep-Wake Disorders and Pharmacotherapy

This topic provides tertiary students in Zambian medical and pharmacy programs with a detailed understanding of sleep-wake disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. It covers the neurobiology of sleep and the evidence-based use of pharmacological agents including benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists (z-drugs), melatonin agonists (ramelteon), orexin antagonists (suvorexant), and sedating antidepressants (trazodone, doxepin). Students will learn to assess sleep complaints, identify contraindications, and manage side effects. Knowledge of this area is vital for practice in psychiatry, family medicine, and neurology, and is increasingly relevant in examinations that test integrated patient management and rational prescribing for common but impactful quality-of-life conditions.