Smoking and Sleep
Monday, May 5, 2008

 In today’s 60 second housecall. Dr. Ken Davis talks about nicotine’s possible effect on sleep.

The effects of smoking may include poor sleep caused by nicotine withdrawal.

Johns Hopkins University scientists studied 40 smokers who smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day and claimed to have no health problems.

At home, the smokers spent a night hooked up to a machine that recorded electrical activity in their brain during sleep. Forty nonsmokers were also studied.

Participants were also asked whether they got restful sleep or felt rested during the day.

Restless sleep was more common among smokers than nonsmokers.  Twenty three percent of smokers reported restless sleep compared with only five percent of nonsmokers. Brain wave patterns were also different for smokers and nonsmokers.

The Johns Hopkins team explained that nicotine, a stimulant, may make it harder for a person to fall asleep. And as nicotine wears off during the night, nicotine withdrawal may kick in, hindering sleep.

For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.