Acute Intravenous Administration of Morphine Perturbs Sleep Architecture in Healthy Pain-Free Young Adults: a Preliminary Study

Abstract

Similar to earlier findings in animals, nondependent opiate addicts, and postoperative patients, morphine was found to reduce duration of slow-wave sleep. Unlike previous reports, however, its acute administration produced a moderate reduction in rapid eye movement sleep and did not increase correlates of arousal (ie, awakenings, electroencephalogram arousals, wake after sleep onset). Future studies should correlate these findings in patients with pain and evaluate whether optimal pain relief with opioid therapy can improve sleep disturbances in pain patients.