What is the role of wake-promotion agents like modafinil in sleep disorders?

• A. They cure narcolepsy
• B. They replace CPAP therapy
• C. Used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy, shift-work sleep disorder, and sleep apnea; with lower abuse potential than traditional stimulants
• D. They cause increased sleep onset latency

Answer: (C)

Wake-promotion drugs are used to address daytime wakefulness problems that come with certain sleep disorders, not to cure the disorders themselves. Modafinil helps people with narcolepsy, shift-work sleep disorder, and residual daytime sleepiness from sleep apnea stay alert during the day and function better. It doesn’t erase the underlying condition—narcolepsy isn’t cured by this drug, and obstructive sleep apnea is treated primarily with therapies like CPAP to keep the airway open. The role of these agents is to reduce excessive daytime sleepiness so daily activities aren’t as impaired, rather than to fix the root cause of the sleep disorder.

They also tend to have lower abuse potential than older stimulant medications, which is why they are favored for managing EDS in these conditions. And they don’t typically cause the opposite problem of longer sleep onset latency; the goal is improved wakefulness, not delayed sleep.