The Impact of Alcohol on Sleep Quality
Many adults rely on the occasional alcoholic beverage to help them destress, relax, and perhaps even help them fall asleep. Unfortunately, alcohol can actually disrupt one’s natural sleep cycle, leading to further exhaustion in the morning.
Alcohol is widely known to act as a hypnotic, reducing the amount of times one wakes up during the night. This is due to the depressant effects of alcohol, suppressing the body’s natural cycling during the night.
Recent studies have also indicated that over time, alcohol can severely reduce the quality of one’s sleep, causing further disruption. This creates an endless cycle of relying on alcohol to fall asleep, only to be left more exhausted the next day.
Short-Term Impact
In the short-term, effects of alcohol on sleep can be observed quite clearly. As mentioned previously, alcohol is quite good when it comes to helping people fall asleep quickly. This is seen as a short-term benefit for those who have difficulty falling asleep due to stress or anxiety.
However, this can be quite dangerous in the long-term, as regular consumption of alcohol can create a difficulty for one’s body to naturally fall asleep, leading to more reliance on alcohol.
Long-Term Impact
Chronic drinking can lead to alcohol misuse and addiction, which further increases the consequences on one’s sleep quality. Constant sleep deprivation can lead to worse health benefits such as increasing one’s risk of high blood pressure, risk for heart disease, and more.
With long-term use, alcohol can worsen the symptoms of insomnia, degrading one’s ability to fall asleep naturally even further. This is partially due to the body being habituated to relying on alcohol as a sleeping aid.
Elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol can also develop as a result of sleep deprivation, further damaging one’s general health.
Other Considerations
- Alcohol can disrupt deep sleep cycles, causing one to remain in a light sleep
- Excess alcohol consumption over time can reduce quality of sleep
- Regular alcohol consumption can lead to sleep dependency
- Increased levels of stress hormone cortisol
- Insomnia symptoms can worsen with regular use
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to consider both the long-term and short-term effects of alcohol on one’s sleep quality. While it may provide temporary relief from insomnia, it should not be relied upon as a long-term solution, as this can lead to further damage to one’s sleep cycle.