How Pumping Up with Steroids Can Deflate Sleep

A man-made version of testosterone, anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS)—which are different than the inflammation-fighting corticosteroids such as prednisone or cortisone—are used by doctors to treat hormone problems, delayed puberty, muscle loss in men, as well as spur muscle growth in people with certain cancers or AIDS.  

However, athletes and bodybuilders—or those who just want to get ripped—have long abused this synthetic hormone to boost muscle mass or perform better while playing sports. It’s been suggested that the estimated three to four million people Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source who have misused anabolic steroids may have a type of mental condition known as muscle dysmorphia, a preoccupation with the concern that their muscles are too small.  

Despite potential muscle gain, the risks of taking anabolic steroids are high. While misuse has been previously linked to sleep problems, including worsened sleep apnea, the connection hasn’t been studied much. However, researchers in Norway recently examined the relationship between AAS, sleep quality, and mental health problems, and the results aren’t good. 

The study included 68 men who had previously or were currently using steroids for at least one year and 58 men who haven’t used the hormone. A subgroup of 22 men were monitored over periods when they used steroids and then refrained from using them. 

The researchers used two scales to evaluate the men’s sleep quality. One questionnaire asks about 19 different sleep components, such as disturbances, use of sleeping medication, sleep time, and daytime dysfunction. Trusted Source Science Direct The leading platform of peer-reviewed literature that helps you move your research forward. View Source The other is a shorter questionnaire that focuses on difficulty falling asleep, awakenings during the night, trouble remaining asleep, and subjective feelings of sleepiness during the day. Trusted Source SpringerLink SpringerLink provides researchers with access to millions of scientific documents from journals, books, series, protocols, reference works, and proceedings. View Source

Approximately 66% of the group that has used steroids disclosed sleep problems, and 38% reported using sleep aids. According to the longer questionnaire, the AAS group experienced significantly worse sleep quality than the group with no steroid use. In fact, the AAS group scored worse than the control group on all aspects of sleep quality except for sleep latency, the time it takes to fall asleep.

Participants who were withdrawing from steroids experienced the worst sleep quality. The study authors theorized it could be related to an association between sleep and a deficiency in testosterone known as anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism.  

Additionally, the group of men who have used steroids reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, which supports the well-known link between sleep quality and mental health.  Researchers noted that it seems like depression symptoms, rather than anxiety, were more significant in the relationship between AAS use and sleep.

“The findings are worrying as sleep pathology can impair mental health and increase vulnerability to illness,” the study authors concluded. “Sleep problems may contribute to the increased levels of psychiatric and somatic pathology that sometimes accompany AAS use.”