Speaker Name: Dr. Tim Ayas
Session Description:
“Sleep is the best medication” was the key message in Dr. Tim Ayas’ presentation: The Intersection of Sleep and Addiction. Dr. Ayas discussed the bidirectional link between substance use disorders and sleep disturbances, sharing evidence of the differential risks of alcohol, cannabis, stimulants, opioids, benzodiazepines, and Z-drugs. Unlike the latter two sedatives, Dual Orexin Receptor Antagonists (DORAs) carry no potential for abuse or cross-addiction and offer the current best balance of efficacy and safety to assist stabilization in insomnia. Given the large overlap between sleep and addiction, the presentation summarized the potential clinical utility of orexin-based therapies to provide restorative sleep and support recovery over the long term.
Learning Objectives:
•Explore the bidirectional link between substance use disorders and sleep disturbances.
•Discuss the neurobiological basis of individual substances and their effect on sleep.
•Outline treatment strategies to assist stabilization in this population.
Bio:
Dr. Tim Ayas is a Clinical Associate Professor with the University of Calgary Department of Psychiatry. He has a number of educational and administrative roles as well as a busy clinical practice; but his passion is teaching students, residents, psychiatrists, family physicians, and multidisciplinary teams across Canada and internationally. He serves on the executive board for the Department of Psychiatry as the Section Chief responsible for Addictions, Rural Psychiatry, and the Claresholm Centre for Mental Health and Addictions. He recently stepped down as Clerkship Director of Psychiatry at the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine. He primarily works at the Claresholm Centre and Edgewood Health Networks as a psychiatrist with a focus on addictions and concurrent disorders. He has provided expert consultation for a number of organizations including Calgary City Hall, Global Television, CTV, CBC National Radio, and the House of Commons. He has won numerous teaching awards including the 2021 Canadian Organization of Undergraduate Psychiatric Educators COUPE national teaching award recognized at the annual Canadian Psychiatric Association Scientific Conference.
References
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