I feel like sleeping all the time but when i do sleep it is low quality and not refreshing
I have felt the same from Bacopa, which is a D2 antagonist like haloperidol [1]. Others report a similar paradoxical drowsiness and wakefulness from haliperidol.
Agonists/antagonists mess with activity, both in the short- and long-term. Agonists induce receptor downregulation and reduced activity (especially upon cessation/withdrawal), antagonists induce upregulation and increased activity (especially upon cessation/withdrawal).
My best explanation then, is that disrupting activity disrupts natural sleep&wake cycles.
Remember in the short-term agonists will increase activity, and after a few weeks or so, then the receptor downregulation starts to compensate and try to re-normalize activity levels. So in the short-term, it resembles long-term antagonist effects, and visa versa. Basically it will reduce overall sleep, increase waking frequencies, and as a byproduct, increase drowsiness/fatigue/the feeling of sedation.
The roles of dopamine in regulating sleep and waking
Systemic administration of the selective DA D(1) receptor agonist SKF 38393 induces behavioural arousal together with an increase of waking and a reduction of sleep.
On the other hand, injection of a DA D(2) receptor agonist (apomorphine, bromocriptine, quinpirole) gives rise to biphasic effects, such that low doses reduce waking and augment slow-wave-sleep and REMS whereas large doses induce the opposite effects. Not much is known about dopamine-serotonin interaction in the regulation of sleep and waking
Edited by gamesguru, 17 August 2015 - 12:45 PM.