Cigarette Smoking and Sleep Quality Interactions
Summary
Cigarette smoking and sleep quality are interlinked through physiological, behavioural and neurobiological pathways. Nicotine’s stimulant properties may delay sleep onset and reduce the duration of deep, restorative slow wave sleep, while withdrawal symptoms often provoke nocturnal awakenings. Regular smoking has been associated with fragmentation of sleep architecture, characterised by reductions in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and alterations in circadian rhythms. Smokers are also at increased risk of sleep-related co-morbidities such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnoea and restless legs syndrome. Conversely, poor sleep quality can reinforce nicotine dependence by exacerbating cravings and diminishing the likelihood of successful cessation. Understanding these bidirectional interactions is crucial for public health strategies, as improving sleep may enhance smoking-cessation outcomes and reduce the global burden of smoking-related disease.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have examined the impact of secondhand smoke exposure on sleep quality in non-smoking populations. A cross-sectional survey of university students in Bangladesh found that exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke was linked to a notably higher likelihood of reporting poor sleep quality. Approximately half of the participants exhibited suboptimal sleep scores, with male students showing a particularly strong association. These findings highlight the need for smoke-free policies and targeted interventions to protect sleep health in vulnerable communities.
Cigarette Smoking and Sleep Quality Interactions publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in cigarette smoking and sleep quality interactions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sleep architecture: The organisation of sleep stages, including light, deep and REM sleep, across a sleep period.
Slow wave sleep (SWS): The deepest stage of non-REM sleep, characterised by high-amplitude, low-frequency delta waves.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep: A sleep phase associated with vivid dreaming and characterised by rapid eye movements and low-amplitude brain waves.
Polysomnography (PSG): A multi-channel recording technique that monitors physiological variables during sleep.
Sleep spindle: A brief burst of oscillatory brain activity (11–16 Hz) occurring during stage 2 non-REM sleep.
Pack-year: A unit of smoking exposure equating to smoking one pack of cigarettes per day for one year.
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI): A self-report questionnaire that assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a one-month interval.
References
- Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with poor sleep quality among non-smoking university students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional survey. Scientific Reports (2023).
- The Interactions between Smoking and Sleep. Biomedicines (2024).
- Associations between smoking, sex steroid hormones, trouble sleeping, and depression among U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study from NHANES (2013–2016). BMC Public Health (2024).
- Impact of smoking on sleep macro– and microstructure. Sleep Medicine (2021).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.