The Oasis Study

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 Opioid use may affect sleep in many different ways, ranging from daytime drowsiness to disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea. Over time, poor sleep harms quality of life and increases risk for serious health problems, like heart failure and stroke. Sleep problems are common among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). According to the NIH, more than 75% of patients with OUD have sleep problems. However, how poor sleep affects each person’s relationship with OUD varies greatly. Sleep disturbances, and their associated outcomes, may determine if someone with OUD continues with treatment or decides to return to drug use. Sleep changes can be a side effect for any opioid, whether prescribed or used recreationally. Sleep changes resulting from opioids, including OUD medications can alter cravings and emotional regulation. 

Our study aims to study sleep quality in patients receiving buprenorphine or methadone treatment. Better understanding trends in sleep and OUD treatment interplay may highlight opportunities to improve OUD treatment and prevent early discontinuation. To do this, our team of sleep scientists, medical providers, and health researchers, will:

• Assess sleep quality using sleep diaries, wrist watches, and lab monitoring to examine any associations between sleep quality, mental performance, and OUD treatment outcomes
• Investigate the potential for sleep interventions to improve OUD treatment outcomes  

This study is led by faculty at Brown University:

Dr. Mary Carskadon (MPI)

COBRE Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Bradley Hospital

Drs. Jody Rich (MPI), Susan Ramsey (Co-I) and Ju Park (Co-I)

COBRE Center on Opioids and Overdose, Rhode Island Hospital

Drs. John McGeary (MPI) and Chelsie Benca-Bachman (Co-I)

Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior of Brown University

This HEAL Sleep Consortium study is supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse of the NIH under grant number R01DA059469. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.