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Insomnia as a path to alcoholism: tolerance development and dose escalation
Timothy Roehrs1,2, Thomas Roth1,2
1Sleep Disorders and Research Center, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI.
Sleep
|May 16, 2018
Summary
Using alcohol as a sleep aid for insomnia leads to tolerance and increased consumption. Initial sleep benefits diminish quickly, highlighting significant risks associated with this practice.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Medicine
- Pharmacology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Alcohol is often misused as a self-prescribed sleep aid.
- Its sedative effects may lead to tolerance and dependence.
- Risks for individuals with insomnia are not well-documented.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate risks of alcohol as a sleep aid in adults with insomnia.
- To assess tolerance development to ethanol's sedative effects.
- To examine ethanol dose escalation following tolerance.
Main Methods:
- 24 adults (21-55 years) with insomnia participated.
- Experiment 1: Nocturnal polysomnograms (NPSGs) after ethanol doses (0.0, 0.3, 0.6 g/kg).
- Experiment 2: Ethanol (0.45 g/kg) or placebo pretreatment followed by choice trials.
Main Results:
- A 0.6 g/kg ethanol dose initially improved sleep (total time, stage 3-4), but effects vanished by night 6.
- Six nights of ethanol pretreatment increased self-administered ethanol refills compared to placebo.
- Tolerance to sedative effects was linked to increased ethanol consumption.
Conclusions:
- This study provides initial evidence on the risks of using alcohol as a sleep aid for insomnia.
- Tolerance to ethanol's sleep benefits develops rapidly.
- Tolerance is associated with increased self-administration, indicating potential for problematic use.
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