Acute heroin abstinence in man: II. Alterations in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of withdrawal from heroin upon rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Subjects included both heroin-dependent patients and drug-free controls. The drug users were young males who had an average daily intake of approximately 973 mg of 92 - 98% pure heroin before entering the study. All electrophysiological data were obtained via a telemetry system on a 24-hour per day basis for 5 to 7 consecutive days. EEG records were scored into the standard awake and sleep states. Results showed a marked decrease in total amount of REM sleep during heroin withdrawal. This total decrease was associated with a decrease in duration of individual REM episodes and a large decrease in the number of occurrences of REM sleep. The heroin-dependent patients during withdrawal also showed a prolonged latency from sleep onset to first REM episode and a reduced number of REM shifts per 24-hour period. No significant difference in REM sleep interval was observed between the control subjects and drug users. Some of the overt behavioral characteristics associated with heroin withdrawal may be indirectly related to the concurrent loss in REM sleep as observed in this study.