Current and former ecstasy users report different sleep to matched controls: a web based questionnaire study

R Carhart-Harris, DJ Nutt, MR Munafo, SJ Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study sought to test the association between ecstasy-use and abnormal sleep. An anonymous web-based questionnaire containing questions on drug use and sleep was completed by 1035 individuals. From this large sample, a group of 89 ecstasy users were found who reported very little use of other drugs. This "ecstasy-only" group was further divided into two groups of 31 current users and 58 abstinent users. The subjective sleep of current and former ecstasy-only users was compared with that of matched controls. Patients were asked to rate their sleep according to: 1) sleep quality, 2) sleep latency, 3) night time awakenings and 4) total sleep time. Current ecstasy-only users reported significantly worse sleep quality (P <0.05) and a greater total sleep time (P <0.001) than controls. It was inferred that these differences might be due to recovery from the acute effects of the drug. Abstinent ecstasy-only users reported significantly more nighttime awakenings than controls (P <0.01). These subjective findings are in agreement with the objective findings of previous studies showing persistent sleep abnormalities in ecstasy users.
Translated title of the contributionCurrent and former ecstasy users report different sleep to matched controls: a web based questionnaire study
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)249 - 257
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Psychopharmacology
Volume23
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2009

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