Pharmaceutical labels could need more warnings about the effects certain drugs could have on sleeping patterns, comments from experts have suggested.

Andres San Martin, a psychiatrist, told the Wall Street Journal that he regularly hears patients talking about disturbing dreams after they start or finish a course of medication.

It is thought this could be due to alterations in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, with drugs including antidepressants, antibiotics and statins capable of causing this.

The article stated that while some pharma labels mention sleep disturbances, many do not because patients decline to mention them during trials and manufacturers do not think to list them as a side-effect.

Dr San Martin told the news provider that he recommends taking drugs at different times of the day to ease nightmares, something that could be included on the packaging.

This comes after a recent study presented at the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies showed that getting six to nine hours of sleep a night results in better quality of life and lower ratings for depression.

Denny Bros Ltd, 05 October 2011