The Effect of Detoxification on Sleep: How Does Sleep Quality Change during Qualified Detoxification Treatment?

Abstract

Aims. Sleep disturbances are common in addiction and withdrawal. This study examined the course of sleep quality in a population of alcohol dependent patients during qualified detoxification treatment in a psychiatric hospital. Methods. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was administered to 77 electively admitted alcohol dependent patients hospitalized for qualified detoxification treatment. Sleep quality was measured at admission and at discharge. Results. The prevalence of bad sleep as measured by a PSQI-score > 5 was 70.1% at admission. During detoxification, male and female patients were equally affected by sleep disturbances and improvement of sleep was not significantly different between males and females. The PSQI score at admission predicted the change of the PSQI score during qualified detoxification treatment. After inpatient detoxification, sleep disturbances persisted in 59.7% of the patients. Conclusions. Contrary to our expectations, the average patient's sleep quality improved in our study after two weeks of detoxification treatment. Sleep disturbances nevertheless persisted in almost two-thirds of the patients. In the view of that finding, patients may require individual evaluation of sleep quality and insomnia-specific treatment in the course of detoxification therapy.

A narrative review of outcome measures used in drug and alcohol inpatient withdrawal treatment research

“…Six studies reported outcomes related to sleep during withdrawal treatment. Three studies used Actigraphy, an objective measure [ 37 , 44 , 55 ], two studies used self‐report measures, such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [ 89 , 96 ], and two used the Sleep‐Related Behaviours Questionnaire [ 44 , 89 ]. Another eight separate studies used eight different measures, including beliefs and attitudes about sleep, hours of sleep and other sleep details (e.g., onset latency, wake time, etc.).…”

Current and potential pharmacological treatment options for insomnia in patients with alcohol use disorder in recovery

“…15 In a recent study of 77 patients with alcohol dependence electively admitted to a hospital for detoxification, 70.1% had PSQI scores greater than five at admission which fell to 59.7% at discharge. 3 From the above analyses, it is clear that the incidence of insomnia associated with alcohol cessation both during and after detoxification is high.…”

“…Insomnia commonly occurs in the acute withdrawal phase (1 to 2 weeks) and early recovery phase (2 to 8 weeks after detoxification). In the acute withdrawal phase, insomnia symptoms are variable and can improve over the detoxification period, 3 yet may continue into the sustained recovery phase (3 or more months after the detoxification phase). During the sustained recovery phase, sleep‐related disturbances can continue for up to 3 years 4–6 …”

“…nia symptoms are variable and can improve over the detoxification period, 3 yet may continue into the sustained recovery phase (3 or more months after the detoxification phase). During the sustained recovery phase, sleep-related disturbances can continue for up to 3 years.…”

Sleep Disorder in Drug Addiction: Treatment With Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

“…Ensuring the sleep improvement during addiction treatment is important as quality control of detoxification, and prevention for relapse (10, 32). Normalized sleep pattern and circadian rhythm could increase the resilience to addiction (33).…”