A study on the effects of alcohol on sleep gives us some interesting insights. It was published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, the journal of the Research Society on Alcoholism and the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism.
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Having a “hot toddy”—or any kind of alcoholic drink—before bed as a sleep aid is so long-established a practice that it is practically a tradition. What’s more, warnings against drinking and driving center around not only slowed reflexes and erratic judgment but concern about falling asleep at the wheel. It seems that “everyone knows” that alcohol makes you sleepy, and therefore a drink before bedtime is nearly guaranteed to help you sleep better.But that isn’t quite right. Or at least, that isn’t all there is to it. Famed news commentator Paul Harvey’s oft-quoted line in his broadcasts was, “And now for the rest of the story.” Would you like to hear “the rest of the story” about alcohol and sleeping?
In studies done with the aid of EEGs, researchers have discovered an interesting fact: While it seems that imbibing a drink before bed does indeed help most people fall asleep faster, it disrupts sleep later on, and on balance the research subjects had a poorer night’s sleep after having a drink before bed than they did if they didn’t intake any alcohol before bedtime.
Christian L. Nicholas, Ph.D., of the University of Melbourne, was the corresponding author for the Dr. Nicholas observed, “The take-home message here is that alcohol is not actually a particularly good sleep aid even though it may seem like it helps you get to sleep quicker. In fact, the quality of the sleep you get is significantly altered and disrupted.” Of course, a wrecked night’s sleep, bad as it is, is almost the least of the negative outcomes that can occur from relying on alcohol. Do you or someone you love have issues with alcohol dependency or alcohol abuse ? We can help!
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