Insomnia and Alcohol - What You Need to Know
Research shows that most people who drink alcohol do not get enough sleep which can have a negative effect on their health. Insomnia can be caused by a lack of restful sleep. It has been shown that people who drink alcohol tend to get fewer hours of sleep than other people. In fact, as many as 20 percent of Americans use alcohol to help them fall asleep. But while alcohol, a depressant, can help you fall asleep faster, it also contributes to poor quality sleep later.
People who have a lack of sleep may feel tired throughout the day or have an inability to stay focused and alert. This is because people who do not get enough sleep may not be able to think clearly or do their jobs correctly, which can have an impact on both their work and home life. It has also been proven that people who have a poor sleep pattern suffer from a higher rate of accident and injury.
While you may doze off fast after drinking, it’s also not unusual to wake up within the middle of the night. One explanation is that alcohol may affect the everyday production of chemicals within the body that cause sleepiness when you’ve been awake for a long time and subside once you’ve had enough sleep. After drinking, the production of adenosine (a sleep-inducing chemical inside the brain) is increased, allowing for a fast onset of sleep. But it subsides as quick as it comes, making you more likely to wake up earlier than you’re actually rested.
Another reason people get less sleep after drinking alcohol is that it blocks your REM sleep, which is often considered the most restorative type of sleep. With less REM sleep, you’re likely to wake up feeling groggy and unfocused. To help combat these negative effects of alcohol, some people will turn to self-help and development. A few common ways of achieving this include avoiding caffeine after midnight, exercising regularly, and reducing the amount of stress in their lives. People should also try to eat well before bedtime and not eat late at night.
This can help them achieve the eight hours of sleep they need.
There are also natural techniques for coping with lack of sleep. These include relaxation techniques, relaxation exercises, meditation, and self-hypnosis. These methods can help people who want to learn to manage their negative effects of alcohol on sleep and start enjoying better sleep patterns.
The use of white noise machines as a form of sound therapy is another sleep inducing technique. Although sounds and negative ion purification won't cure a hangover or eradicate some of the alcohol-related sleep issues mentioned above, something like the SleepBliss Sound Machine can help ease into a restful slumber and stay induced in your sleep.
People who have trouble sleeping should speak to their doctor about their sleep problems before attempting to use self-help for insomnia. Lack of deep sleep and insomnia can be hard to handle and may take a while to overcome. However, if the measures that can help are used properly, it can have a positive effect on your health and well-being.