Many people suffering from long-term chronic pain use opioids as a sleep aid to take away pain and stop their sleep being disrupted. However, a new study led by the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick with Warwick Medical School suggests that not enough research has been done to assess the benefits and risks of using painkillers for the purpose of improving sleep quality.
Their study, a systematic review of existing research on the effects of opioids on sleep, has been published in Sleep Medicine Reviews.
The researchers conducted a comprehensive systematic review of existing literature that examined the effects of opioids on sleep quality. As part of this, they conducted a meta-analysis of data from these studies, combining the results of 18 studies which were then narrowed down to 5 with comparable data.
They found that research on opioid effects on sleep quality was limited and of poor quality, often with potential publication bias and conflicts of interest, and rarely testing patients for sleep apnea prior to and during the study.
