Posted on 01/27/2024 8:35:08 AM PST by ConservativeMind
A team of neuroscientists and sleep researchers has found that rather than improving sleep, consuming an alcoholic beverage before bed can cause a reduction in REM sleep.
Prior research has shown that REM sleep takes up approximately 20% of a typical night's sleep, but is still important. Though scientists have not yet figured out the purpose of REM sleep, they do know that people who do not get enough can experience emotional problems, mental acuity difficulties and memory issues.
In this new study, the researchers explored whether consumption of alcohol prior to sleep might have a positive or negative impact on sleep quality and REM sleep in particular. To find out, they recruited 30 adult volunteers who spent three consecutive days and nights in a sleep lab on two occasions, where their brains could be monitored as they slept.
To assess the impact of having a nightcap before going to bed, the researchers served only a mixer (non-alcoholic ingredients typically used to make cocktails) on one of their stays, and a mixer with added alcohol on the other. Both times the drink was consumed one hour before the volunteer went to bed.
The research team found that drinking just one alcoholic beverage led to an increase in slow-wave sleep across all three nights. It also decreased the duration of REM sleep. Overall, they found that the volunteers were able to fall asleep faster after consuming alcohol, but their quality of sleep suffered due to shortened REM periods.
They also noted that drinking an alcoholic beverage on consecutive nights did not change the amount of REM sleep impacted—their body did not adapt to overcome the effects of alcohol. The team concludes that drinking even a small amount of alcohol before bed can adversely affect sleep quality.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Probably not a good idea to watch the news before bed because that can make one want a sedative like wine.
I know a single beer even six hours before bed makes my sleep much less restful. Two beers wrecks it.
For some of us, the drink MAKES us sleepy.
Reading FR before bed can send your BP soaring, too. You get the double-whammy of “great” news AND blue screen.
so breakfast then
always a silver lining
Thirty drinks before going to bed can help you sleep through the weekend.
Soon we’ll need whatever it was Michael Jackson’s doctor was giving him in order to sleep.
Drinking DOES negatively impact your sleep.
Yep. I have a shot at bedtime which puts me to sleep, and then another shot to get back to sleep after I pee the first shot out a few hours later.
AND a shot at 7 am to get you going?
This has been known for a long time. Many types of sedatives also alter sleep cycles.
That would be Propofol.
Nurse Mrs googoo says "medical insiders" call it Milk of Amnesia"
I haven’t had two hours of REM sleep in ages. I’m always half aware and half awake. I hear every acorn that hits the roof and every howl of a coyote out in the woods. I know that is why I’m so tired all the time.
Many studies have concluded that slow-wave sleep (deepest) is the most restorative. This study indicates that alcohol increases slow-wave sleep. Contradictions abound in ‘studies’.
Hasn't this been widely known within the scientific sleep-study community for the last 50 years or so?
This past Wednesday, I celebrated 20 years of sobriety after a pretty intense drinking career. Early on in sobriety, I had some pretty vivid and intense dreams and it occurred to me that during my drinking years, I didn’t recall any dreams. Sobriety quite literally gave me back my dreams.
I can only surmise that my body and mind were making up for years of bad sleep due to too much alcohol.
Now I sleep deeply, wake up rested, and feel great all the time.
“Drinking DOES negatively impact your sleep.”
I have found that sleeping negatively impacts my drinking.
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