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Review
. 2019 Dec:30:117-122.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.03.007. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Alcohol and sleep-related problems

Sean He  1 , Brant P Hasler  2 , Subhajit Chakravorty  3
Affiliations
Review

Alcohol and sleep-related problems

Sean He et al. Curr Opin Psychol. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

Alcohol is one of the most commonly used psychoactive substances in the community. Many individuals use alcohol for its sleep-promoting effects. Nonetheless, alcohol disrupts sleep through multiple mechanisms, such as disrupting electrophysiologic sleep architecture, triggering insomnia, and contributing to abnormalities of circadian rhythms and short sleep duration (SSD) in cross-sectional studies. Alcohol also increases breathing-related sleep events such as snoring and oxygen desaturation, especially in those with pre-existing problems. Emerging data demonstrate that insomnia may co-exist with SSD and circadian abnormalities. Future studies should unravel these tentative associations in individuals who misuse alcohol.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Interests: none of the authors report any conflict of interest with this investigation. Dr. Chakravorty has received research support from AstraZeneca and Teva pharmaceuticals.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The Association between Alcohol and Sleep-Related Disorders
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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