Young adults just aren’t sleeping like they used to, and that’s not the only problem. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are increasing in popularity with our young populace, despite their usage being linked to an increased risk of damaging conditions like lung damage and heart disease. Hoping to research a possible association between e-cigarette use and sleep in young users, researchers surveyed 4,553 young adults aged eighteen to twenty-four.
Wei Li, postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Medicine, in collaboration with research colleagues, found that young adults who exclusively use or have used e-cigarettes are more likely to sleep for a shorter amount of time each night than non-users. The research also examined how certain factors, such as sex, comorbidities (co-existing health problems), and even education level might be associated with the amount of sleep attained by adolescent e-cigarette users. Even after accounting for these other variables, the research still demonstrated that young adults who currently use e-cigarettes without other tobacco or nicotine products display a statistically significant association with shorter-than-recommended sleep duration.
In an age where many consider e-cigarettes to be a cleaner alternative to traditional cigarette use, these new devices display possible physiological red flags. They require exploration by dedicated research teams invested in uncovering the truth behind socially “accepted” alternatives. Li describes the motivations driving his research into ultramodern smoking habits as relatively straightforward. “In sum, given that the e-cigarette use is rising sharply among young people […] and the advocacy in this area is kind of limited, I wanted to explore this kind of thing more closely to understand how e-cigarette use may affect health and long-term health while used in young adults,” Li said. The research developed by Li and colleagues may bring about future causal investigation on the impact of e-cigarette use on sleep length and quality, serving as the basis for advocacy against young adult e-cigarette use.