The popular “club drug” known for enhancing intimacy and diminishing anxiety is now linked to problems sleeping.
“Repeated use of the drug popularly known as “ecstasy” significantly raises the risk of developing sleep apnea in otherwise healthy young adults with no other known risk factors for the sleep disturbance,” a Johns Hopkins study states. Sleep apnea is a disorder associated with irregular breathing while sleeping.
Ecstasy’s other side effects
This team of researchers had already linked the illegal amphetamine-style chemical to a list of other side effects including neurological problems, subtle cognitive deficits and impulsive behavior. That same team now believes sleeping patterns are thrown off while people are on ecstasy, or “E” as it’s sometimes called by teens.
“We know that abusing drugs can have numerous harmful effects. Our findings show yet another reason not to use ecstasy,” according to lead researcher Una McCann M.D.
The study
McCann’s team recruited 71 sleep study volunteers, all ecstasy users, by advertising for “club drug users” in newspapers and fliers. All had typically used other recreational drugs as well. They also recruited 62 participants who had similar patterns of illegal drug use but had never taken ecstasy. Volunteer spent a few nights at a sleep research center while their brain activity and sleep patterns were monitored.
The results
Results showed that the more participants had used “E” in the past, the more severe their apnea was likely to be.
“Our subjects were otherwise healthy young adults, so this is a very surprising finding,” McCann said.
The breathing problems associated with sleep apnea can lead to heart problems and other medical complications. There are treatments available, including sleeping equipment that forces air through the nose and lungs to keep a consistent breathing pattern rather than the stopping and starting caused by sleep apnea.
