This investigation compared the likelihood of insomnia and insomnia-related health consequences among individuals of different socioeconomic status. A random-digit dialing procedure was used to recruit at least 50 men and 50 women in each age decade from 20 to 80+ years old. Participants completed 2 weeks of sleep diaries as well as questionnaires related to fatigue, sleepiness, and psychological distress. Socioeconomic status was measured by education status assessed at 3 different levels: individual, household, and community. Results indicated that individuals of lower individual and household education were significantly more likely to experience insomnia even after researchers accounted for ethnicity, gender, and age. Additionally, individuals with fewer years of education, particularly those who had dropped out of high school, experienced greater subjective impairment because of their insomnia.

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These findings indicate that substances are widely used among college students for sleep aid. Sleep aid use is associated with greater concurrent drinking and insomnia symptoms, and increases in negative drinking consequences over a short time period.

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This investigation assessed the extent to which various health factors are associated with difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) and nightmares among Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans reporting a trauma (combat, noncombat, or a trauma before service). Veterans (N = 201, 88.1% male, mean age = 34.2, SD = 10.1) were referred by primary care for a behavioral health assessment upon evidence of psychiatric symptoms. Sleep problems were assessed using items from the PTSD checklist. After controlling for demographics and nonsleep PTSD symptoms, head injury with a loss of consciousness increased the likelihood of severe nightmares (OR = 3.77, p = 0.019), alcohol abuse or dependence increased the likelihood of moderate nightmares (OR = 4.80, p = 0.007), and greater nonsleep depression increased the likelihood of severe DIMS (OR = 1.20, p = 0.008). Thus, factors aside from PTSD severity are related to sleep disturbance in OIF/OEF veterans reporting a trauma.

Objective: One in 5 college students use substances such as cannabis and/or alcohol to help sleep. Despite this high prevalence of sleep aid use, there remains a lack of research on the potential day-to-day sleep- and substance-related consequences. The current study examined associations of cannabis and alcohol sleep aid use with subsequent sleep and substance use consequences among college students. Method: Of a baseline sample of 217 college students endorsing past-month cannabis and/or alcohol use (1% cannabis only, 42% alcohol only, 58% both), 83 students endorsing past-month cannabis and/or alcohol use for sleep aid (Mage = 19.33 [SD = 1.11], 30% male, 72% White) completed online questionnaires for 14 consecutive days to report daily sleep, substance use, and negative substance consequences. Results: Multilevel models demonstrated that nights of cannabis sleep aid use predicted longer same-night sleep duration, shorter same-night wake time after sleep onset, and greater next-day daytime fatigue within person, after controlling for daily cannabis frequency. Alcohol sleep aid use was not associated with sleep-related outcomes or negative drinking consequences after controlling for daily alcohol quantity; these null results may be due to a low frequency of alcohol sleep aid use (1% of observations) over 14 days of assessment. Conclusions: Results highlight daytime fatigue as a potential adverse short-term outcome of cannabis sleep aid use, despite its proximal sleep-related benefits.