At the end of a long and draining day, there’s very little to top a relaxing sundowner with friends. Those of us at Varsity know all too well how frantic life can be on campus, being pulled in a hundred different directions with far too much on our inexperienced plates. And so, we feel that we deserve a drink or two with some mates just to help us wind down and sleep a little better.
However, there’s a small problem here. Do you often wake up feeling like you could do with another 10 hours of sleep? Do you hit a wall after lunch and crave a sneaky nap?
Here’s a question for you: do you know how alcohol affects your sleep?
3 Ways Alcohol Affects Sleep Patterns
Alcohol makes you sleepy, right? So it stands to reason that if you have a drink before bed you’ll sleep better, surely? Actually, no. Here’s why:
Interrupted Brain Activity
Our brain, in a normal waking state, is operating mainly on beta waves. We exist between thinking, chatting, studying or running away from danger – this is beta. Those of us who are a little more chilled can sometimes enter an alpha brainwave state which is a relaxed and contemplative state.
When we go to sleep, our brains tone down and enter a theta state of activity, a deep state of relaxation, growth and healing. Delta waves (hopefully) follow which are long, slow waves associated with REM sleep, restoration and rejuvenation.
Biology lesson over. Here’s the problem.
When we drink before we fall asleep, our brains don’t go into a delta wave state which means we don’t get to the essential REM state. Our alpha waves are still active, and while they are cool while we’re awake, they are less so at 2 am when they keep us in a lighter sleep.
Broken Rhythms
Our body’s rhythms are run by a small dictator in the form of a master biological clock. This tells us when we should be sleeping, eating, waking up, etc. Alcohol messes with this little function and throws everything into disarray affecting organ function, hormone regulation and digestive processes.
The Sleep Chemical
Ever heard of adenosine? This chemical is your sleep regulator and levels rise naturally during your waking hours. The longer you’ve been awake, the higher more adenosine in your body, until it puts you to sleep. Alcohol wreaks havoc on this chemical and boosts its production, which is basically why we fall asleep really quickly after a few beers. However, it also wears off quickly and leaves us wide awake at midnight.
So, there we have it – sleep sabotage in a bottle. Once we understand how alcohol affects our sleep, we will be able to manage our social lives a little better and wake up refreshed and ready for a new day.