Alcohol: Making Sleep or Disrupting Sleep?

Medical Video: Real Questions - Does drinking alcohol really make you sleep better?

Some of you might think alcohol can help you fall asleep. However, don't be fooled by the effects of alcohol at the beginning of sleep that can make you sleepy. Alcohol can actually make your sleep disturbed all the time, it can even cause you to experience insomnia because sleep arrangements in your body's system are disrupted.

How alcohol affects your sleep

Drinking alcohol before bed does make you sleepy and easier to sleep. This happens because alcohol has a sedative effect or sedative effect on the body, which encourages you to go to sleep immediately. However, this does not take place during your sleep.

If you (or someone who has insomnia) thinks that alcohol can help you get better sleep, then your assumption is wrong. Drinking alcohol before bed only makes you sleep well at the beginning of your sleep. Then, after midnight, you will be more likely to wake up, so that your sleep time will be cut off.

You can also get the negative effects of alcohol during the sleep phase rapid eye movement (BRAKE). The REM sleep phase is the deepest phase of your sleep, where you can dream. Usually you will reach this REM phase after you have fallen asleep for approximately 90 minutes.

Well, alcohol can interfere with your sleep during this REM phase. You might be able to get a nightmare. Sleep disturbances in the REM phase can cause sleepiness during the day and also reduce your concentration while doing your work.

Research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Colombia shows a connection between consumption of alcoholic beverages and sleep. According to Mahesh Thakkar, chief researcher, alcohol can interfere with sleep by changing the circadian rhythm. In addition, alcohol can also interfere with sleep by affecting a person's sleep balance through increasing levels of the hormone adenosine in the body during sleep.

You need to know that women can get less sleep than men because of the effects of alcohol. This can happen because women metabolize alcohol faster than men, so women can reach the second stage of sleep faster than men.

What happens if you drink alcohol before going to bed

If you drink alcohol before going to bed, alcohol in your body can cause you to experience the following during sleep, namely:

Nightmare

If your body is affected by alcohol while sleeping, then you are more likely to experience nightmares or dreams that actually occur. You can also experience walking while sleeping or doing something like you do in your dreams. As Dr. Vensel-Rundo, a neurologist and sleep expert, that parasomnias (walking or unwanted movements during sleep) can occur due to alcohol or antidepressants, quoted from the Cleveland Clinic.

Respiratory disorders

The effects of alcohol can spread throughout the body, one of which is in the respiratory system. Alcohol can relax your muscles, so that your airway can close easily. This can increase your experience of sleep apnea or breathing disorders during sleep.

What do you feel the next day?

If you drink alcohol before going to bed, the next day you may feel a little dizzy when you wake up. Sleep disturbances that you feel at night, such as insomnia or waking from sleep at night more often, make you not refreshed when you wake up the next day.

Also, there are studies that show that alcohol can reduce the levels of the hormone melatonin in your body. The hormone melatonin is a hormone that regulates the body's internal clock. So, if you are dependent on alcohol, maybe your body will find it difficult to distinguish between day and night.

Conclusion

So, drinking alcohol before bed can make your sleep quality worse. Alcohol may help you get a good night's sleep, but in the second phase of sleep alcohol can make your sleep disturbed. The more alcohol you drink before going to bed, the more likely you are to experience a sleep disorder.