0005 Bidirectional associations of sleep and alcohol use within and between regularly drinking young adults. (25th May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reichenberger, David; Chang, Anne-Marie; Russell, Michael
• Is Part Of: Sleep. Volume 45(2022)Supplement 1
• Page Start: A2
• Page End: A2
• Publication Date: 2022-05-25
• Subjects: Sleep -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Sleep disorders -- Periodicals; Sommeil -- Aspect physiologique -- Périodiques; Sommeil, Troubles du -- Périodiques; Sleep disorders; Sleep -- Physiological aspects; Sleep -- physiological aspects; Sleep Wake Disorders; Psychophysiology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.8498
• DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsac079.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0161-8105

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Young adults can be resistant to drinking interventions, but improving other health behaviors, such as sleep, may indirectly reduce hazardous drinking. Evidence linking sleep to next-day drinking among regular drinkers could support sleep interventions as an indirect pathway to alcohol misuse reduction. We investigate this connection in the natural environments of 222 regularly drinking young adults. Methods: Regularly drinking young adults (21-29 years; 63% women) wore an alcohol monitor across six days that continuously measured transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC). Participants completed daily smartphone-based surveys reporting the previous night number of drinks and sleep. Predictors were disaggregated into within- and between-person variables. Sleep variables were used to predict next-day alcohol use, and alcohol use variables were used to predict subsequent sleep. Multilevel Poisson and linear models with random intercepts for each outcome were adjusted for weekends, sex, weight, and prior night sleep/drinking. Results: Between-person results showed that participants who tended to go to bed later had on average 24% more drinks (p<0.01) and achieved 26% higher peak TAC (p<0.02) the next day. Every hour of sleep duration the prior night was associated with a 14% decrease in the number of next-day drinks (p<0.03). Conversely, participants who drank more went to bed on average 12-19 minutes later (p<0.01) and slept 5 fewer minutes (p<0.01). Within-person results showed that on nights when participants drank more than usual they went to bed 8-13 minutes later (p<0.01), slept 2-4 fewer minutes (p<0.03), and had worse sleep quality (p<0.01). Conclusion: Young adults who went to bed earlier and slept longer on average tended to use alcohol less the next day, and using less alcohol tended to improve subsequent sleep within young adults. Taken together, these results suggest that better sleep health may improve drinking behaviors and intoxication dynamics, which may have implications for interventions targeting sleep as a mechanism to reduce heavy drinking. Support (If Any): David Reichenberger was supported by the Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629) with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This research was funded by departmental funds and a pilot mentoring and professional development award through P50DA039838 (NIDA), both awarded to Michael Russell.