Insomnia is a "prevalent and persistent" problem for patients in the early phases of recovery from the disease of addiction and it may lead to an increased risk of relapse, scientists have found.
Dr Nicholas Rosenlicht of University of San Francisco and colleagues found that insomnia may be linked with a higher risk of alcohol-related problems and relapse.
The association may run in the other direction as well - population studies report people with sleep disturbance are more likely to be at risk of developing addiction.
Researchers found that the incidence of insomnia in early recovery may be five times higher than the general population and may persist for months to years.
Researchers addressed another question - if insomnia contributes to relapse, can treatment for insomnia reduce that risk?
The evidence is mixed, with some studies reporting that using medications for insomnia during recovery (mainly from addiction with alcohol) can lower the relapse rate, they said.
Clinicians should be cautious when prescribing medications to address insomnia in the recovering patient.
This population of patients may be at increased risk for misuse, abuse, or addiction to sleep medications, or prone to "rebound insomnia" after medications are discontinued.
In short, use of such medications may increase the risk of relapse, researchers said.
The research is published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
