Effects of abstinence from opioids on self-reported craving and sleep

Abstinence-based treatment of opioid use disorder has always been faced with the probability of an increase in craving, which potentially results in relapse. Moreover, sleep problems are predominant among patients with abstinence treatment. A sample of twenty-six male subjects with opioid use disorder were selected from a residential treatment center for substance use disorders in 2017 in Mashhad, Iran. Opioid craving was evaluated using obsessive-compulsive drug use scale (OCDUS) at four-time points (days 1, 10, 20, and 30) during abstinence. Also, they were asked to report their total sleep time. The participants with an average age of 32.5 ± 8.0 years reported the use of opium and heroin to be as high as 2.0 ± 1.2 g per day and 1.5 ± 0.9 g per day, respectively. Abstinence induced a non-significant gradual decrease in self-reported craving during one month (p > 0.05). Also, they experienced significant declines in total sleep time over the first ten days (p = 0.008). The univariate analysis of variance showed no significant changes in craving after adjustment for total sleep time (p > 0.05). Insignificant reductions in opioid craving after detoxification persisted throughout the 30 days of abstinence.