Alcohol Doesn't Help Deep Sleep

You may want to reconsider that nightcap tonight. New research has shown that having a drink before bed could leave you with less deep sleep and leave you dependent on the alcoholic substance to get to bed.

Irshaad Ebrahim and other researchers from the London Sleep Centre found that drinking alcohol before bed could make people dependent on the aid and turn others into snorers. The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, looked at 20 studies in detail out of more than a hundred. After analyzing these studies, Ebrahim and his team noted that alcohol tended to change sleep patterns in three ways. It accelerated sleep onset, meaning that people fall asleep faster; it sent people into a very deep sleep; and it caused fragmented sleep patterns for the second half of the night.

Although in the short term alcohol may give the impression of improving sleep, the long term is completely the opposite. The first two changes that alcohol induces are identical to those seen in people who take antidepressant medication and may explain why those with insomnia use alcohol. The third change, though, is unpleasant. It reduces the amount of time sleepers spend in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage of sleep where dreams occur. Because of this, sleep becomes less restful and may make you feel more tired when you get up in the morning.

Researchers suggest that if you drink at night, you should do so at least two hours before bed. That way, most of the alcohol will have left your system and you may be in for a better night's sleep.