Smokers may have more sleep problems than non-smokers, German researchers found.
Findings published in Addiction Biology magazine show that smokers run the risk of not getting enough sleep every night and generally sleep restlessly.
The study was built on the study of "sleepy" habits of more than 1070 smokers and 1243 non-smokers. Researchers found that 28.1% of smokers had impaired sleep quality, while among non-smokers, only 19.1% of participants suffered from this problem. 17% of smokers also reported that they sleep six or less hours a day, compared with 7% of non-smokers.
"It seems likely that smoking is a behavioral mutable risk factor that contributes to sleep quality problems and short sleep times," the researchers write in their work.
In 2008, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that people who received less than six hours of sleep each night had a higher level of nicotine dependence. Moreover, they suffered from obesity, drank more alcohol, and all this was observed against the background of a lack of physical activity.
And in another study in CHEST magazine, researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that smokers have a four times higher risk of restless sleep than people who don't smoke. In addition, they often sleep in superficial rather than deep sleep.
“It is possible that smoking has a time-dependent effect on sleep throughout the sleep period,” said researcher Dr. Naresh M. Punjabi. “Smokers usually have difficulty falling asleep due to the stimulating effect of nicotine. Then, quitting nicotine during the night can contribute to further sleep disturbance.”
