A ‘vicious cycle’
Hans P.A. Van Dongen, PhD, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University, Spokane, said in an interview that the findings imply a “vicious cycle” between sleep and alcohol consumption. “You create a problem and then it perpetuates itself or reinforces itself.”
Dr. Hans P.A. Van Dongen
In older adults, alcohol tends to act as a “sleep aid,” Dr. Van Dongen noted. “Then it disrupts their sleep later on and then the next night they need to use the sleep aid again because they had a really poor night and they’re tired and they want to fall asleep.”
He added: “I think what is new here is that’s not very likely the mechanism that they’re using alcohol as a sleep aid in younger adults that we see in older adults, so I think there is a new element to it. Now does anybody know how that works exactly? No, that’s the next thing.”
The Penn State study identifies “a signal there that needs to be followed up on,” Dr. Van Dongen said. “There’s something nature’s trying to tell us but it’s not exactly clear what it’s trying to tell us.”
The National Institute on Drug Abuse provided funding for the study. Mr. Reichenberger has no relevant disclosures. Dr. Van Dongen has no disclosures to report.