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2008-02-05 10:26:26
By Will DunhamMon Feb 4, 5:12 PM ET
For smokers, getting a good night's sleep is no slumber party, scientists said
on Monday.
Researchers who tracked the brain activity of smokers while they slept found
that they spent less time in deep sleep than nonsmokers. Smokers were also
about four times as likely to complain that their sleep did not leave them well
rested.
The nicotine from cigarettes seems to be a nightmare for sleeping smokers.
Because it can act as a stimulant, nicotine makes it harder to fall asleep, the
researchers said. And minor withdrawal symptoms that occur as the night drags
on can further disturb a smoker's sleep, they added.
Researchers led by Dr. Naresh Punjabi of Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine in Baltimore set out to learn more about the sleep problems that
bedevil many smokers.
"Smokers undoubtedly, when you look at the (medical) literature, have
sleep-related difficulties. They have difficulty falling asleep and difficulty
maintaining sleep," Punjabi said. "The question is why do they have this."
A key issue was whether sleep problems could be blamed on the many medical
complications brought on by smoking -- symptoms of lung or heart disease, for
instance -- or whether smoking itself was the culprit, Punjabi said.
The researchers identified a group of 40 middle-aged smokers who had none of
the many medical conditions associated with smoking, and compared their sleep
patterns to those of an equal number of nonsmokers of the same age and physical
type.
While sleeping at their homes, they were hooked up to electroencephalogram or
EEG machines, which record the brain's electrical activity. Compared to
nonsmokers, smokers spent less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep,
the researchers found.
The biggest differences took place in the period just after falling asleep,
supporting the idea that nicotine's effects are most acute in early stages of
sleep, according to the study.
In addition, about 23 percent of smokers reported they had not had restful
sleep, compared to 5 percent of nonsmokers.
The findings were published in the journal Chest, published by the American
College of Chest Physicians.
"This study provides yet one more reason to stop smoking or to never start,"
Dr. Alvin Thomas, president of the American College of Chest Physicians, said
in a statement.
Punjabi said the findings could be important in coming up with better ways to
help smokers quit, for instance by tailoring nicotine replacement therapy to
minimize withdrawal effects that smokers may experience during sleep."
"This is very critical for smoking cessation because one of the major
complaints that smokers tend to have when they start quitting is sleep
dysfunction," Punjabi said.