What Are The Effects Of Addictions On Sleep And Rest?
It is estimated that we spend a third of our lives sleeping, and during sleep we can recover both physically and psychologically.
In this article We will see the effects of addictions on sleep and rest anticipating that all of them have a detrimental impact on this, highlighting a marked lack of rest and insomnia, as well as imbalances in the different phases of sleep.
Here we will see broken down the sleep disturbances that addictions promote.
1. Effects of prolonged alcohol consumption on sleep and rest
Today, It is widely known that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and, as such, it produces negative effects in people who consume it for a long time at various levels, one of them being rest.
When alcohol is consumed occasionally, it has been found that it can even cause drowsiness, so it has not been found to cause difficulties for the subject to fall asleep.
Sleep problems appear when alcohol consumption exceeds “reasonable” amounts since among the studies carried out on the effects of addictions on sleep and rest, alcoholism and its effects on sleep is the topic on which the most studies have been done.
Problems in sleep phases associated with alcohol consumption
When alcohol is consumed in excess, it is common to have nocturnal awakenings. There is also a decrease in sleep latency, which causes an imbalance in the duration of the different phases of sleep, so that the REM phase is reached earlier than it should, causing an increase in this phase.
In the case of patients with chronic alcoholism, research has found that they have less deep sleep and also a shorter duration of REM sleep, as well as more fragmented sleep.
Furthermore, other research has discovered that excessive alcohol consumption decreases the activity of the electroencephalogram (EEG) during sleep and various imbalances in brain waves in different phases, and REM sleep may be absent.
Effects of alcohol withdrawal on sleep and rest
In addition to the effects of addictions on sleep and rest, there are also the effects caused by addiction.
When people with alcoholism are trying to stop drinking, withdrawal syndrome occurs. And during this phase it is common for sleep and rest to be altered, resulting in a high percentage of cases with insomnia.
As they tend to sleep less than necessary, their sleep is even more fragmented ; On the other hand, the REM phase and rapid eye movements increase, affecting the latency to reach this last phase of sleep, so the rest is not restorative.
These withdrawal symptoms usually appear between 7 and 48 hours after stopping alcohol intake, with the highest degree of discomfort occurring around 3 days of abstinence; It is common for these symptoms to subside after staying sober for a week, although insomnia could last longer, especially if the person suffers from depression and/or anxiety problems.
2. Effects of excessive mobile phone use on sleep and rest
Among the effects of addictions on sleep and rest, it is worth highlighting those caused by excessive use of mobile phones.
In recent years, addiction to the use of mobile phones and social networks has only increased, with the adolescent population and those in early adulthood being the most vulnerable to this addiction.
That is why numerous studies have been carried out in this regard, highlighting the day-to-day problems that excessive use of their mobile phone causes to these young people, such as poor school performance, anxiety, depression and insomnia
There are studies that show that adolescents with addiction to mobile phone use tend to have a worse quality of sleep than those who do not suffer from this addiction; insomnia being one of the main consequences of the abusive use of these devices.
Furthermore, in these cases, the frequency of eye movements during REM sleep has been reduced, as well as a shortening of sleep latency and an increase in activity reflected in the electroencephalogram (EEG). It is because of that your rest is usually not restful and they experience drowsiness in the mornings, which may affect their performance.
A study conducted with 400 high school students found a positive correlation between feeling lonely and increased mobile phone use, as well as another positive correlation between mobile phone use and poorer sleep quality.
3. Effects of other addictions on sleep and rest
This section will briefly explain the effects of addictions on sleep and rest in those subjects who consume the different substances listed below.
3.1. Cocaine
cocaine, Being a stimulant of the central nervous system (CNS), it decreases and can even suppress the need for sleep and rest A person addicted to this substance may suffer an imbalance in circadian rhythms, so that they do not sleep enough hours and, therefore, their sleep is not restful; waking up drowsy, which could trigger a greater need to consume this stimulant, so this would become a vicious circle.
It should be noted that daytime sleepiness is one of the most common symptoms of cocaine withdrawal syndrome, as well as insomnia.
3.2. Opioids
Among the effects of addictions on sleep and rest, the damages caused by the consumption of opioids are very significant. These are a group of substances that seriously harm the lives of those who consume any of the drugs classified in said group, such as heroin including serious disorders in sleep and rest.
As happens in people with a long-term alcohol addiction, people with opioid addiction have a shorter duration of REM sleep and deep sleep, so it is an addiction that also affects sleep and rest.
Furthermore, when a person is addicted to this type of substance, their circadian rhythms are altered and it has also been found that these subjects have altered muscle activity during sleep and move more than normal.
As with other addictions, when trying to get rid of opioid addiction, Withdrawal symptoms appear, among which insomnia is common as well as awakenings throughout the night, so the person does not get a good quality of sleep.
On the other hand, it has been seen that When they are on methadone treatment to maintain abstinence from opioids, they are able to fall asleep better than in the case of subjects who do not receive its administration and try to remain abstinent without the help of this substance.
You may be interested: “Addiction to opiate medications”
3.4. Cannabis
Cannabis addiction is also not free of negative effects on sleep and rest. Studies with people addicted to cannabis use have found that suffer from a decrease in REM sleep, as occurs with opioids just as it has also been seen that their sleep is more fragmented, so that they do not get a completely restorative rest.
When trying to stop using cannabis, it has been found that the majority of subjects suffer insomnia, among other characteristic symptoms of withdrawal syndrome. In addition, it has also been seen that the duration of the REM phase increases, returning to a correct duration of the different phases of sleep.
Prevalence of insomnia in patients addicted to different substances
In a study carried out in Spain by Grau-López and collaborators in 2016 with 481 patients who had some substance addiction, it was highlighted that 64.3% of them suffered from insomnia, and fragmented sleep was also very common (in 49.9% of cases) It was also found that addiction patients with a comorbid anxiety disorder and initiation of use at an early age were the most likely to suffer from insomnia.
On the other hand, there are studies that highlight that there is a bidirectional relationship between addictions and insomnia, so people with sleeping problems were found to be more likely to develop some type of addiction later.
Related article: “How does self-deception work in addictions?”
Phases of correct and restful sleep
To better understand the effects of addictions on sleep and rest We are going to see the different phases with their duration of a correct and restful sleep
As we have seen, the effects of addictions on sleep and rest have a negative impact on the quality of life of people who suffer from any of them.
We will now see how nocturnal sleep should be subdivided so that it is restorative, consisting of 5 phases, which in turn are classified between REM sleep and non-REM sleep.
The phases that run from the first to the fourth are those that make up non-REM sleep, while the fifth phase is the one in which REM sleep occurs.
Phase 1
It is the phase with sleep in a light state when the subject begins to sleep, the duration of which is only a few minutes.
The body’s activity begins to decrease little by little and the person may still wake up easily.
Phase 2
In this phase, sleep begins to become deeper lasting between 10 and 20 minutes.
The physiological activity of the body continues to decrease and here the person can still wake up easily, although it would be more complicated than in phase 1.
Phase 3
It is a phase that lasts between 15 and 30 minutes in which the muscles are in a complete state of relaxation, there is normally no movement of the body or limbs and it is difficult to wake the person.
Phase 4
This phase usually lasts approximately the same as phase 3 being the deepest stage of sleep, so it is very difficult to wake the person while they are going through this phase.
Phase 5 or REM sleep
To reach this phase, in a dream that follows a correct course, Approximately 90 minutes should have passed and its duration is about 20 minutes In this stage, the so-called rapid eye movements occur. It is also a stage in which it is relatively difficult to wake the person.
