NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Smoking at night is associated with a stronger association with poor sleep than smoking earlier in the day, according to a new study.

In the journal Sleep Health, the researchers showed that to help patients, hygiene before bed should be considered and combined with efforts to quit smoking.

“Many people smoke to relax, but nicotine is still a stimulant. For this reason, smokers – especially at night – have more severe insomnia and are more likely to not get enough sleep,” said Dr. Michael Grandner from the University of Arizona School of Medicine in Tucson.

He and his colleagues wrote that poor sleep is linked to a variety of health problems, and that insomnia is associated with higher health care costs, lost workdays, and major health consequences. strong.

“Insomnia leads to increased stress and possibly more smoking,” Dr. Grandner told Reuters Health by email. “So you really have the perfect storm of sleep deprivation and smoking.”

Dr. Grandner and colleagues analyzed data from the Sleep and Healthy Activity Diet Environment and Socialization study, which included more than 1,000 adults between the ages of 22 and 60 in Philadelphia between 2012 and 2014. The study looked at self-reported smoking status of cigarettes and other tobacco, duration of smoking, severity of insomnia, and duration of sleep.

Smokers had a 2.5 times higher rate of moderate to severe insomnia than non-smokers (P < 0.001). Smoking was also associated with a 3.3-fold higher rate of “very short” sleep duration of 4 hours or less, and significantly increased risk, as well as a higher risk of “short” sleep 5 or 6 hours.

In particular, smoking at night was significantly associated with more severe insomnia and shorter sleep. Smoking between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. was associated with a notable 2.4-fold increase in the incidence of severe insomnia.

Smoking late at night between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. was also associated with a 2.5 times higher rate of severe insomnia. In terms of sleep duration, smoking between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. was the most likely to have a short nap compared to normal sleep.

“What is surprising is that not only is the long-term effect of smoking harmful to sleep health, but it is also likely that the short-term stimulation of nicotine itself also affects it,” Dr. Grandner said. “Perhaps people are more likely to smoke at night because they have had poor sleep in the first place… I look forward to exploring that in the future.”

The authors write that future research may better investigate smoking duration and sleep, and untangle the complex relationship between the two. Clinicians and researchers should consider how smoking affects sleep, especially when developing a smoking cessation program. If smokers could change the time they smoke or nicotine intake around bedtime, they could get better sleep, and possibly even help them quit.

Dr Christine Spadola of the Florida Atlantic College of Social Work and Criminal Justice at Boca Raton said: “Considering how important sleep is for physical and mental health, research surrounds the Methods to optimize sleep can have far-reaching implications for public health.”

Dr. Spadola, who was not involved in the study, studied nighttime nicotine use and sleep time. She and her colleagues found that smoking within four hours of bedtime equates to a 48-minute reduction in sleep time.

“It can be incredibly difficult to quit,” she told Reuters Health by email. “If smoking cessation is not feasible, guidance around nicotine timing methods to reduce negative effects on sleep can be helpful.”

Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/941662?fbclid=IwAR2mv0yD_Mjq2Jb0cNPsYTCH23E4Q6QaUg4AgTnORMWsgdtcbNQN_t3lbko

Reference: https://bit.ly/3fzJhA2 Sleep Health, online November 18, 2020 :

“Smoke at night and sleep worse? The associations between cigarette smoking with insomnia severity and sleep duration”

Self-translated article, please do not re-up!

Translator: Gia Minh

Reviewer: Tran Phuong