The association between poor sleep and substance use has also been found in younger population.
"Among
normal adults, sleep difficulties and insomnia have predicted onset of
alcohol use one year later, and increased risk of any illicit drug use
disorder and nicotine dependence 3.5 years later," said Maria M. Wong,
professor and director of experimental training at Idaho State
University.
For their study, Wong and her co-authors analysed
data collected from 6,504 adolescents (52 percent girls, 48 percent
boys) participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health.
They used sleep difficulties to predict substance-related
problems at a subsequent wave, while controlling for substance-related
problems at the previous wave.
The consequences of sleep
difficulty and sleep insufficiency when added to use of alcohol or other
substances can impact both medical and behavioural areas.
"This
study has added to the existing literature by establishing the
relationship between two sleep variables - sleep difficulties and hours
of sleep - and the odds of serious alcohol- and drug-related problems in
a nationally representative sample," Wong pointed out.
"This
paper is important in that it advances our understanding of the relation
of sleep to substance use problems to include not only problems
sleeping, that is, trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep, but
also insufficient sleep, addressed here as hours of sleep," concluded
Tim Roehrs from Henry Ford Hospital.
The results of the study will be published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.