Research Project
10212320
Project Summary/Abstract Sleep problems (defined as poor sleep quality and/or insomnia symptoms) are prevalent among college students and associated with adverse consequences, including severe psychiatric disorders, suicidal ideation and behaviors, motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular disease, and substance use disorders. A substantial subgroup of college students use cannabis as a sleep aid, despite mixed evidence for its sleep benefits. According to theoretical models of reciprocal influences between substance use and sleep, cannabis sleep aid use may be a risk factor for exacerbation of sleep and substance use problems over time. Recent work conducted by the applicant provides preliminary characterization of prevalence, correlates, and short-term consequences of cannabis sleep aid use among college students. Indeed, college students may be a high-risk group for cannabis sleep aid use and associated consequences given marked elevations in sleep-impeding behaviors, cannabis use, and cannabis sleep aid use. However, ecologically-valid research on THC-based cannabis sleep aid use in daily life among college students remains limited. Importantly, it is unknown what modifiable variables precipitate decisions to utilize cannabis for sleep. Cognitive theory of insomnia posits that negatively-toned cognitive activity before bed (e.g., worry about sleep) is associated with emotional and autonomic pre-sleep arousal, prompting safety-seeking behavior, such as self-medication to promote sleep onset. Thus, the proposed project uses an intensive longitudinal assessment design to test a potential risk pathway involving THC-based cannabis sleep aid use underlying the association of pre-sleep arousal with subsequent sleep and cannabis consequences. Findings of this project may elucidate potential intervention points preceding cannabis sleep aid use (i.e., modifiable precipitants of cannabis sleep aid use as treatment targets) among college students, accelerating the design of evidence-based intervention efforts and ultimately mitigating downstream harms. Current findings will therefore inform the applicant?s future K01 and/or R01 awards, enhancing the applicant?s independent research program and setting the stage for a long and prolific career of public health research in the increasingly-important area of cannabis use for sleep aid. Future directions include: (a) developing a comprehensive model of cannabis sleep aid behavior, including precipitants informing sleep aid use and mechanisms underlying exacerbated subsequent sleep- and cannabis-related consequences; (b) developing an intervention program targeting precipitating factors (e.g., pre-sleep arousal) of cannabis sleep aid use on college campuses in order to minimize sleep- and substance- related harm among college students. This NIH fellowship would greatly support the applicant?s developing independent research program and long-term career goals by providing essential training in cannabis-sleep theory, intensive longitudinal designs, ambulatory assessment technology, and advanced statistical modelling.
