Fighting Addiction from A to Zzz

A good night’s rest can remain elusive for many recovering alcoholics once they leave treatment, according to research conducted as a doctoral dissertation in the School of Public Health that shines new light on the little-understood connections between sobriety and slumber.

The study, published in PLoS One, analyzed the sleep patterns of 33 patients, nearly all of whom came into an inpatient program with sleep problems, and found that about half had sleep disturbances four to six weeks after being discharged—potentially putting them at risk for relapse.

“People may use alcohol to fall asleep,” says Alyssa Todaro Brooks Ph.D. ’15, a scientific program specialist at the National Institutes of Health who collaborated on the study with UMD behavioral and community health Professors Kenneth Beck and Craig Fryer. “It has the potential to start the (addiction) cycle all over again.”

As a depressant, alcohol may help people fall asleep but it also causes problems later in the night. Previous studies show that alcoholics often struggle with insomnia, nightmares and snoring while in withdrawal and recovery, especially if they suffer from depression as well.

Previous research has found that sleep disturbances, both prior to and after treatment, may be a factor in relapse, but the long-term consequences for alcoholics with sleep problems are unknown.

The new study found that one of the best predictors for sleep is an individual’s “self-efficacy,” or belief that he or she actually will fall asleep. Not surprisingly, Brooks says, this feeling of self-control can be a challenge for people in the throes of addiction.

Brooks is working on an expanded study examining the relationship between sleep problems and relapse, and will design behavioral interventions for people in recovery.

Sleep, she says, has to be considered just as important for discharged patients as healthy diet, exercise and positive social networks.

“Alcoholism is a really complex, chronic disease,” Brooks says. “We really have to start thinking about lifestyle and other factors.”