Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Introduction Prior studies have established a longitudinal association between sleep disturbance and the development of alcohol use disorder. Experimental research also shows that alcohol intake negatively impacts sleep. The present study evaluated the reciprocal relationship between sleep and alcohol use with intensive longitudinal methods. We hypothesized that sleep disturbance would predict greater next-day alcohol intake and that greater alcohol intake would predict greater same-night sleep disturbance. Methods 50 college students (70% female, mean age 24) participated in a two-week study assessing their daily sleep and alcohol use patterns. Participants wore the Phillips Actiwatch Spectrum and completed daily diaries capturing self-reported sleep and alcohol intake. Multi-level zero-inflated binomial models assessed whether prior sleep predicted next-day alcohol use, including the likelihood of abstaining from alcohol the next day and alcohol intake amongst individuals who do drink. Linear multi-level models assessed whether alcohol use predicted daily sleep. All models assessed both within-subject (daily) and between-subject (average) effects because daily variations in sleep may influence alcohol use separately from average patterns and vice versa—models controlled for race, age, and gender. Results Participants with greater average sleep onset latency (SOL) were less likely to drink the next day (OR: 1.02 p .05). Among those who drank, greater average wake after sleep onset (WASO) and SOL and shorter daily total sleep time (TST) predicted greater next-day alcohol intake (WASO IR: 1.01; SOL IR: 1.01; TST IR: 0.998; p .05). Higher average alcohol intake predicted increased daily WASO (B = 10.3, SE = 4.4, p .05), TST (B = 15.0, SE = 5.1, p .05), and decreased daily sleep quality (B = -0.13, SE = .06, p .05). Daily alcohol intake did not predict sleep variables. Conclusion These results suggest there is a dynamic reciprocal relationship between sleep and alcohol use. Individuals with worse average sleep continuity were less likely to drink alcohol. However, among those who chose to drink, lower average sleep continuity and shorter daily sleep duration predicted greater alcohol intake. These results suggest that sleep disturbance is a risk factor for developing excessive alcohol use. Support (if any) Idaho State University, Graduate School; PSI CHI; INBRE.
Tussey et al. (Sat,) studied this question.