Does chronotype moderate the association between smoking and sleep?

Smoking is associated with impaired sleep, potentially due to the stimulating effects of nicotine and withdrawal symptoms during sleep. Meanwhile, individuals having later chronotypes, defined by delayed sleep and activity patterns, also tend to report increased sleep problems. It was hypothesized that both smoking and a later chronotype would be independently associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration. Another hypothesis was that chronotype may moderate the association between smoking and sleep, since engagement in evening activities, common among students with a later chronotype, might increase smoking in the evening, resulting in stronger nicotine effects before sleep. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 1613 students (77.7% women, mean age 21 ± 2.9) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and a substance use questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. The...Show moreSmoking is associated with impaired sleep, potentially due to the stimulating effects of nicotine and withdrawal symptoms during sleep. Meanwhile, individuals having later chronotypes, defined by delayed sleep and activity patterns, also tend to report increased sleep problems. It was hypothesized that both smoking and a later chronotype would be independently associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration. Another hypothesis was that chronotype may moderate the association between smoking and sleep, since engagement in evening activities, common among students with a later chronotype, might increase smoking in the evening, resulting in stronger nicotine effects before sleep. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 1613 students (77.7% women, mean age 21 ± 2.9) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and a substance use questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. The results showed that smokers reported poorer sleep quality (B = .944, p < .001) and shorter sleep duration (B = −.223, p < .001). A later chronotype was associated with both poorer sleep quality (B = −.061, p < .001) and shorter sleep duration (B = 0.16, p < .001). However, chronotype did not significantly moderate the association between smoking and sleep quality (B = −.05, SE = .007, p = .869) or sleep duration (B = .009, SE = .006, p = .888). These findings suggest that the negative effects of smoking on sleep are consistent across chronotypes.Show less

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Does chronotype moderate the association between smoking and sleep?