Improving Sleep to Help People Stop Smoking
Official title: Neural Mechanisms Connecting Deficient Sleep and Smoking Relapse: An RCT of CBT for Insomnia in Adults who Smoke
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11141173 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores how improving sleep with therapy might help people who smoke quit by boosting their mood and self-control.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $468,549 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA061285-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141173 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults aged 21 or older who smoke, are seeking treatment to quit, and experience sleep difficulties.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not smoke or do not experience sleep problems related to smoking cessation may not directly benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
Many people who smoke find it harder to quit when they don't get enough sleep, often feeling worse and having less self-control. This project looks at how a special type of talk therapy for insomnia, called CBT-I, could help improve sleep, reduce negative feelings, and strengthen self-control in individuals trying to stop smoking. We believe that better sleep, through CBT-I, can help fix certain brain functions related to mood and impulse control. We are recruiting adults who smoke and are seeking treatment to understand these connections better.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could offer a new way to help people quit smoking by addressing sleep problems, potentially leading to more effective cessation strategies.
How similar studies have gone: This project builds on existing preliminary findings from CBT-I and brain imaging studies, suggesting a foundation for its approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Li, Chiang-Shan Ray — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Li, Chiang-Shan Ray
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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CBT for Insomnia to Help Adults Who Smoke Quit and Sleep Better
A sleep-focused therapy is tested to help adults who smoke sleep better, feel less negative, and improve their ability to quit smoking.
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How sleep problems affect smoking relapse and how therapy can help
This study is looking at how better sleep can help adults who smoke stay smoke-free, and it will explore if a special therapy for sleep problems can improve mood and self-control while using brain scans to see how these changes happen.
-
Social stress and smoking: why disadvantaged young adults struggle to quit
This grant looks at how daily social stress affects if and when disadvantaged young adults who smoke can quit and stay quit.
-
Promoting Breastfeeding to Prevent Postpartum Smoking Relapse
A trial tests whether encouraging new mothers to breastfeed helps prevent them from starting to smoke again after giving birth.
-
Adaptive treatment for early smoking relapse in adults
This study tests different paths to help adults who smoke quit again after an early relapse, including trying a different quitting medicine or switching to a safer nicotine product.
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Online Helpers training to reduce smoking relapse by strengthening your support network
An online program that teaches recent quitters to help friends or family stop smoking so their social circle becomes more supportive and they are less likely to relapse.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.