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Insomnia Symptoms May Prompt More Drinking Over Time
Insomnia symptoms, even if mild, were found to be associated with increased drinking over time, according to findings from the “first study to examine if objective circadian measures can predict future alcohol use in adults.”
Results were published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
“These results suggest that in otherwise healthy adults, insomnia symptoms, even if subclinical, are a significant predictor of future drinking, and appear to outweigh the influence of circadian factors on future drinking, at least in otherwise healthy adults,” said Helen J. Burgess, PhD, department of psychiatry, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and coauthors. “Insomnia symptoms may be a modifiable target for reducing the risk of alcohol misuse.”
The study included 78 adults (aged 21 to 42) who consume alcohol and met the criteria for light (n=28) or heavy (n=50) drinking. The participants had no significant prior or present physical or mental health conditions and were at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.
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At baseline, the authors conducted a thorough range of self-reported and objective sleep/circadian measures via questionnaires, wrist actigraphy monitoring, daily sleep and event diaries, dim light melatonin onset, and circadian photoreceptor responsivity. Following the initial week of home monitoring and a laboratory session, participants were followed up with at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 month points to complete an online questionnaire regarding alcohol consumption behavior over the past 30 days. They also completed updated questionnaires, including the Insomnia Severity Index, the Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-State Questions, Anticipated Biphasic Effects of Alcohol Scale, and the Anticipated Drug Effects Questionnaire.
Through statistical analysis, the authors found that self-reported insomnia severity and actigraphy-derived total sleep time were the key predictors of future alcohol use. Greater insomnia severity was associated with more drinks per week and more binges per month. While the study sample reported “relatively lower on average” insomnia severity, the symptoms still predicted greater alcohol consumption.
An unexpected finding was that longer, rather than shorter, total sleep time predicted more drinking in the future. Because this particular insight contrasts with prior findings, the authors noted that it will require further investigation.
Study limitations include the self-reporting nature of data gathering, a small sample size, and underrepresentation of racial minorities which may limit the generalizability of the study insights.
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