1. Anterograde amnesia is the inability of a patient to remember occurings that took place during the duration of drug-action in the body. This effect is caused by benzodiazepines in a dose-dependent manner (Brand, 2021).
2. With the long-term use of benzodiazepines, a patient’s time needed to fall asleep will be shortened.    An increase in the total sleep-time will be experienced, if the patient sleeps less than 6 hours as a normal pre-medication range. REM sleep is also affected by benzodiazepines according to the dosage. The higher the dosage the more the patient’s REM sleep is depressed. Phase 2 NREM sleep duration is increased, while phase 4 NREM sleep is decreased (Brand, 2021). The group of newer hypnotics decrease the time to persistant sleep (Katzung, 2018).

Thus these newer hypnotics and benzodiazepines is useful to treat insomnia to improve a pastient's sleep patters, where ever the problem my be.

3. Benzodiazepines: Lorazepam, midazolam, diazepam. These medication can have a supplementary therapy-use. This is that this drugs cause anterograde amnesia and anxiolysis. Thus this drugs is used as premedication (Katzung, 2018).  This can be effective to reduce anxiety pertaining medical procedures, especially with anterograde amnesia that influences the patient’s memory of the occurring.
4.  Metharbital and phenobarbital are the barbiturates that can be used for it’s anticonvulsant effects for generalized tonic-clonic seizures treatment. Various benzodiazepines have anticonvulsant effects to be used in the management of seizures. These benzodiazepines include: lorazepam, diazepam, clonazepam, nitrazepam. With the use of sedative-hypnotics in the treatment of convulsions an impairment in psycho-motor function may be caused (Katzung, 2018).
5. Benzodiazepines and carbamates can exert an effect on muscle-relaxation. The following mechanism is applicable: These drugs inhibit the polysynaptic reflexes and internucial transmission. A depression in transmission, at the neuromuscular junction, may take place with the use of high doses (Katzung, 2018).
6. Sedative-hypnotic drugs has an influence on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in the body (Katzung, 2018).

Respiratory system:

The respiratory system is depressed, dose related, with the use of sedative-hypnotics. In a healthy patient the effect is similar to the respiratory changes when a person sleep. Patients who suffer from pulmonary disease may experience excessive respiratory depression, even at therapeutic doses.

Death can be caused with an overdose of this drugs, through depression of the medullary respiratory center (Katzung, 2018).

Cardiovascular system:

In healthy patients sedative-hypnotic drugs, does not have a significant effect on the cardiovascular system with the use of this drugs as hypnotics with normal doses.

Patient who already have disease(s) that impair their cardiovascular function, for example heart failure or hypovolemic states, can experience a depression in cardiovascular function already at the use of normal doses. This is most likely caused by actions on medullary vasomotor centers. Circulatory collapse can be caused by the depression of vascular tone and also myocardial contractility with toxic doses of sedative-hypnotics. This depression happens due to peripheral and central effects due to adenosine action that is facilitated (Katzung, 2018).

Reference list

Katzung, B.G. 2018. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology. 14th ed. International: McGraw-Hill Education.

Brand, L. 2021. Sedative-Hypnotic drugs. Study unit 2 [pdf]. Unpublished study notes on eFundi, FKLG312. Potchefstroom: NWU.