Sedation caused by antipsychotics
For advice on monitoring for and preventing antipsychotic adverse effects, see Overview of antipsychotic adverse effects.
Sedation is associated with all antipsychotics at high doses. Some antipsychotics also cause sedation within or below the optimal therapeutic range—see Approximate relative frequency of common adverse effects of antipsychotics for approximate relative frequencies.
Sedation may be beneficial in the early phase of treatment if the patient is agitated but should be avoided long term—it can interfere with the patient’s recovery, safety and wellbeing.
Usually sedation is temporary and most pronounced when starting an antipsychotic or increasing the antipsychotic dose, or starting or stopping an interacting drug. Warn the patient about sedation and associated risks (eg effect on ability to drive and operate machinery safely)—reassure them that sedation usually reduces after 1 to 2 weeks. If unacceptable sedation continues beyond this time, consider changing the administration time or, if possible, reducing the antipsychotic dose. If this is ineffective or impractical, switch to a less-sedating antipsychotic—see Approximate relative frequency of common adverse effects of antipsychotics.