Study Shows Smoking Disrupts Circadian Rhythm, Leading to Sleep Problems

Sharon Moore January 08, 2014

Who do smokers usually have troubles with sleep? According to a new study, smoking leads to changes that can ultimately affect the lung’s circadian rhythm, leading to sleep problems. Furthermore, tobacco use also increases lung inflammation that leads to emphysema.

Previous studies suggest that smokers are more likely to experience sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep and insomnia. In a study carried out by the University of Florida researchers last September 2013, it was revealed that for every cigarette a person smokes, their total sleep time decreases by 1.2 minutes. According to the researchers, nicotine appears to disrupt sleep-wake cycle because of its stimulating effects.

Now, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Centre exposed lab mice to long-term (six months) and acute (three days and 10 days) cigarette smoke. They found that it altered the gene expression in the mice, and increased lung inflammation. Cigarette smoke seemed to have an effect specifically on a molecule called SIRTUIN1. Reductions in levels of this molecule affected levels of BMAL1, a clock protein, in the lungs and brains of the mice.

In another experiment, the researchers took samples of human lung tissue from people with COPD and smokers, and exposed them to cigarette smoke. Such exposure, as their findings suggest, has also reduced the kevels of SIRTUIN1.

"This study has found a common pathway whereby cigarette smoke impacts both pulmonary and neurophysiological function," according to study researcher Irfan Rahman, Ph.D., of the Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Centre. "Further, the results suggest the possible therapeutic value of targeting this pathway with compounds that could improve both lung and brain functions in smokers."

The new findings were published in The FASEB Journal.

Source of this article:

Smoking Affects Circadian Rhythm, Study Finds