Alcohol and Sleep

Are you a culprit of utilizing alcohol once and a while to help you get a better night’s sleep (I know that I have been on occasion)? I found this an needed to share. If turns out that this naughty habit not only are you increasing your likelihood of alcohol dependency, but may also be robbing yourself of a good night’s rest. Though you’re falling asleep much faster, you may be disrupting the rest of your sleep cycle.

Although it assists in falling asleep much more quickly, alcohol actually prohibits and reduces the amount of REM sleep that an individual is getting in their sleep cycle. Usually REM sleep (or rapid eye movement sleep) happens within the first 90 minutes of falling asleep, and it is thought to be an important part of the restorative process. When you don’t have the adequate amount of REM sleep at night, it causes daytime drowsiness, poor concentration, and overall fatigue.

Using alcohol as a sleep aid is known to cause other sleeping-disrupting symptoms, such as sleep apnea (suppressing your breathing), sleep walking, sleep talking, and memory impairing. These symptoms cause you to have a restless second half of your sleep cycle, completely counter-acting your fast coming first half. Due to the addictive qualities of alcohol, it may actually cause you to feel as though you’re getting a better night’s rest, causing you to crave repeating the process. Hopefully you will find early on that this is a false craving, and you’re actually experiencing the negative effects of not getting enough restful-REM sleep.

If you are having difficulty sleeping, you should first speak with your physician. He or she will hopefully be able to rule out underlying sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, and help you find a better, healthier sleep assistance solution.