Sleep time differs among people who co-use cocaine and cannabis compared to people who only use cocaine

Paris B. Wheeler, Jardin N. Dogan, Danelle Stevens-Watkins, William W. Stoops

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: People who use cocaine experience numerous sleep problems and often use cannabis to mitigate these problems. However, co-using cocaine and cannabis may result in worse sleep outcomes when compared to using cocaine only. The current study examined group differences in subjective sleep outcomes among people who use cocaine and people who co-use cocaine and cannabis. Methods: Participants were 82 individuals with cocaine use disorder who were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial for cocaine treatment. Sleep outcomes, assessed at baseline prior to treatment, were measured with the Saint Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire and included total sleep time, perceived sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, and daytime alertness. Analysis of covariance and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare sleep outcomes between participants with urine samples that tested positive for both cocaine and cannabis at baseline, those who tested positive for cocaine only, and those who tested negative for all drugs. Results: Total reported sleep time was highest among those with a drug negative urine, followed by those with a cocaine positive urine and those who tested positive for cocaine and cannabis. There were no differences in perceived sleep quality, difficulty falling asleep, or daytime alertness between groups. Conclusions: People who co-use cocaine and cannabis may report reduced sleep time relative to those who only use cocaine. Co-use of cannabis may exacerbate sleep difficulties in people who use cocaine by decreasing total sleep time, although it is important to note that the groups each reported similar sleep quality. Implications for treatment and directions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number173109
JournalPharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior
Volume201
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health , National Institute on Drug Abuse under award numbers R01DA043938 and T32DA035200 as well as from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences under award number UL1TR001998 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Cannabis
  • Cocaine
  • Polydrug use
  • Sleep

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Biological Psychiatry
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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