(PS1-A20) Sleep and Substance Use: The Relationship Between Nightly Hours of Sleep and Next-day Urges to Use Drugs and Alcohol

Poor sleep is a common physiological stressor that can increase risk of maladaptive coping behaviors such as using drugs and alcohol (Sinha et. al., 2008). Research has shown that poor sleep is associated with addictive behaviors (Olashore et. al., 2020). The likelihood that an individual uses drugs increases when they sleep less than 7 hours (Mednick et. al., 2010). Because sleep and the urge to use substances is fleeting, it is best to assess these constructs as they occur, rather than relying on retrospective methods (e.g., self report over weeks or months). Accordingly, researchers have used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the effect of sleep on mood and other psychological variables; however, little research has been conducted to assess the relationships between hours of sleep and next-day urges to use drugs using ecological momentary assessment. The present study examines whether there is a relationship between nightly hours of sleep and next-day urges to use drugs and alcohol.

Participants in the study were 444 college students who completed 6x/daily EMA for up to 8 weeks. We conducted two multi-level logistic models both with a day-level predictor (prior night’s sleep) and one momentary-level outcome: presence (i.e., score of 0 on a 0-10 scale) vs. absence (score >1) of momentary urges to use (1) drugs and (2) alcohol. 

Results indicated a similar pattern for both variables. When participants had better sleep the night before, they had lower odds of reporting urge to consume alcohol (OR=0.99, 95%CI= [0.942,0.997], p =.029) or use drugs (OR=0.9623, 95%CI= [0.933,0.991], p =.011).  

Findings suggest a relationship between hours of sleep and next-day urges to consume alcohol or drugs. Future research should elucidate the predictive ability of sleep on next-day urges to use drugs and alcohol, as well as exploring potential mediators of this effect such as the need to cope, escape, or dissociate. These findings can clarify the role that healthy sleep habits play in protecting vulnerable individuals from exacerbating existing psychological ailments, providing a basis on which clinicians can address sleep habits with patients.