Worsening sleep quality across the lifespan and persistent sleep disturbances in persons with opioid use disorder.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) may experience worsening sleep quality over time, and a subset of individuals may have sleep disturbances that precede opioid use and do not resolve following abstinence. The purpose of the present study was to (1) collect retrospective reports of sleep across the lifespan and (2) identify characteristics associated with persistent sleep disturbance and changes in sleep quality in persons with OUD. METHODS: Adults with OUD (n = 154) completed a cross-sectional study assessing current and past sleep disturbance, opioid use history, and chronic pain. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine changes in retrospectively reported sleep quality, and whether changes varied by screening positive for insomnia and/or chronic pain. Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to identify additional correlates of persistent sleep disturbance. RESULTS: Participants reported that their sleep quality declined over their lifespan. Changes in reported sleep over time varied based on whether the individual screened positive for co-occurring insomnia and/or chronic pain. In regression analyses, female sex (ß = 0.16, P = .042), a greater number of treatment episodes (ß = 0.20, P = .024), and positive screens for chronic pain (ß = 0.19, P = .018) and insomnia (ß=0.22, P = .013) were associated with self-reported persistent sleep disturbance. Only a portion of participants who screened positive for sleep disorders had received a formal diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: OUD treatment providers should routinely screen for co-occurring sleep disturbance and chronic pain. Interventions that treat co-occurring OUD, sleep disturbance, and chronic pain are needed. CITATION: Ellis JD, Mayo JL, Gamaldo CE, Finan PH, Huhn AS. Worsening sleep quality across the lifespan and persistent sleep disturbances in persons with opioid use disorder. J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(2):587-595.

Clinical correlates of drug-related dreams in opioid use disorder.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Drug-related dreams are commonly reported by individuals in treatment for substance use disorders, which may be distressing. Existing evidence suggests that dream recollection may be influenced by clinically relevant phenomena, such as opioid use and withdrawal, general sleep disturbance, affective symptoms, and chronic pain. However, very few studies have explored drug-related dreams among individuals who screened positive for opioid use disorder (OUD). METHODS: Adults recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) who screened positive for OUD (N = 154) completed a questionnaire about drug-related dreams, as well as measures assessing sleep, opioid use history, stress, anxiety, and chronic pain. χ2 analyses, one-way analysis of variance, and bivariate correlations, correcting for the false discovery rate, were used as appropriate to explore correlates of (1) recollecting a drug-related dream, and (2) experiencing post-dream craving and distress. RESULTS: Individuals who recollected a past-week drug-related dream were more likely to report other recent sleep disturbances, including poorer sleep quality, greater insomnia symptoms, and a higher risk for sleep apnea. Post-dream craving and distress were both associated with greater insomnia symptoms, poor sleep hygiene behaviors, and greater anxiety symptoms. Individuals who had ever experienced a drug-related dream (recently, or in their lifetime) were more likely to report a history of severe withdrawal, overdose, and intravenous opioid use. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Drug-related dreams were common among individuals in the present sample and were related to other clinically relevant phenomena. Interventions that treat co-occurring OUD, pain, sleep symptoms, and affective symptoms may improve overall well-being in this population.