Smokers often find themselves tossing and turning at night, as restful sleep eludes them, researchers say.
Otherwise healthy smokers suffer nicotine fits in the middle of the night the same as they would if they tried to go eight hours without a smoke during the day, saysa study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“If they were awake during those eight hours, they would have two or three or 10 cigarettes,” said Dr. Naresh Punjabi, the study?s lead researcher. “As we start figuring out ways to help people quit, sleep disturbance is a very important issue to address.”
Smokers spend less time in deep sleep and more time in light sleep than nonsmokers, with the greatest differences in sleep patterns seen in the early stages of sleep, according to the study, published in CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
“Smokers commonly experience difficulty falling asleep due to the stimulating effects of nicotine,” Punjabi said. “As night evolves, withdrawal from nicotine may further contribute to sleep disturbance.”
He found that 22.5 percent of smokers reported lack of restful sleep, compared with 5 percent of nonsmokers.
Punjabi?s finding should add another incentive to those looking to quit, said Dr. Alvin V. Thomas Jr., president of the American College of Chest Physicians.
“This study is significant because it suggests that smokers may also be deprived of the much-needed restorative effects of sleep,” he said. “This study provides yet one more reasonto stop smoking or to never start.”
