AbstractThe effects of nocturnal temazepam elixir on 14 male osteoarthritic patients and 16 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls were investigated in a double‐blind parallel groups study. Temazepam produced a number of significant changes in objective sleep. In the osteoarthritic patients temazepam reduced the duration of awakenings, percentage stage 0, percentage stage 1, percentage stages (0+1) and increased percentage stage 2 and REM latency. In the controls temazepam reduced the duration of awakenings, percentage stage 0, percentage stages (0+1) and increased percentage stage 2, sleep efficiency and REM latency. During the drug period, seven out of 15 subjects receiving temazepam reported improved sleep, compared with one out of 15 placebo subjects. There was no evidence to suggest that temazepam caused any unwanted side‐effects or affected the duration of morning stiffness in osteoarthritic patients. Temazepam produced no significant impairment of early morning psychomotor performance or significant withdrawal effects in either patients or c