The weekend is almost here! You’ve been waiting the entire week to hashtag TGIF on your favorite social media, and you already know how you’re going to enjoy your well-deserved out of office: you’re going to use one of your favorite glass, pour your favorite liquor in it, and enjoy the most relaxing and peaceful moment of your week.
The first thing you’re going to feel, will be this very special relaxed and uninhibited pleasure.
Like a drug, alcohol has direct effects on the brain. It “may seem to be helping you to sleep, but overall it is more disruptive, particularly in the second half of the night,” based on researcher Irshaad Ebrahim from the London Sleep Centre in the U.K. The more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects. Alcohol consumption can trigger:
– New or deeper sleep disorders including insomnia and sleep apnea.
– More frequent need to get up to the bathroom (the body wants to evacuate toxins from kidneys and bladder)
– Greater risk of snoring (due to excessive relaxation of head muscles)
– Increased sleep walking
The results of these triggers speak for themselves: a light and disrupted night’s sleep that leads to exhaustion and dehydration.
Alcohol is the most common sleep aid: at least 20 percent of American adults rely on it.
The truth is, drinking regularly (even moderate drinking) is much more likely to interfere with your sleep than to assist it.
Nevertheless, we are all humans, we know that nobody is perfect; we also know that St Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and we’re not going to judge you by your whisky consumption… This is why we want to give you a few tips to let you enjoy your favorite one, while considering your sleep moving forward:
– Try to empty your last glass of alcohol, 3 to 4 hours prior bed.
– Avoid sparkling wine or alcohol and soft drinks mixes. They are MVPs for bloating issues!
– One drink of alcohol = one drink of water! That’s the best anticipated hangover cure.
– Never ever, combine alcohol with sleeping pills. These two encourage respiratory difficulties.
Once again, we come face to face with the simple fact that, no matter how you look at it, moderation is always the key.
