Sleep effects of a 24-h versus a 16-h nicotine patch: A polysomnographic study during smoking cessation

Background and purposeSleep disturbance is a common symptom of tobacco withdrawal and might contribute to early relapse vulnerability in abstinent smokers. This study was designed to compare the effects on sleep of nicotine patches applied either for 24 h (Nicopatch®) or 16 h (Nicorette®).Patients and methodsDuring a short smoking cessation period (48 h), this open-label, randomised, two-period crossover study compared the effects on sleep of the two nicotine patches in 20 heavy smokers (9 women, 11 men). During each period, polysomnographic recordings were performed from 12 pm to 7 am for two consecutive nights (baseline and treatment nights). Smoking cessation started from 8 pm the day of the baseline sleep recordings, and treatments were applied around 8 am the following morning.ResultsCompared to the 16-h nicotine patch, smokers who received the 24-h nicotine patch experienced significantly less microarousals, a greater proportion of slow wave sleep, a higher REM density and higher rapid eye movement (REM) beta activities.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that a 24-h nicotine patch is more efficient than a 16-h nicotine patch to alleviate tobacco withdrawal-induced sleep disturbances.