Some people prefer to drink a few alcoholc beverages before bed so they can get a better night's sleep. However, a new study suggests that alcohol actually has the opposite effect on sleep.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne involved 12 men and 12 women with ages 18 to 21 for the study. The participants consumed an average of seven drinks per week for the last 30 days. The researchers divided them into two groups: one group drank alcohol before sleep time while the other had placebo. They also underwent standard polysomnography with comprehensive EEG recordings to assess their sleep quality.
The analysis showed that those who drank alcohol before sleeping experienced increased slow wave sleep (SWS) or deep sleep, during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) or the first 5 to 15 minutes of sleep. However, the researchers observed that the frontal alpha power, a state of the brain characterized by low awakening, also increased simultaneously.
The researchers concluded that while alcohol helped people fall asleep faster, it causes sleep disruption that leads to poor sleep quality.
"People likely tend to focus on the commonly reported sedative properties of alcohol, which is reflected in shorter times to fall asleep, particularly in adults, rather than the sleep disruption that occurs later in the night," said Christian L. Nicholas, National Health & Medical Research Council Peter Doherty Research Fellow in the Sleep Research Laboratory at The University of Melbourne as well as corresponding author for the study, in a press release.
Earlier studies have linked poor sleep quality to decreased performance and alertness during daytime, poor memory and cognitive ability, and stress.
Nicholas warned that people should not be dependent on alcohol to make them sleep.
"The take-home message here is that alcohol is not actually a particularly good sleep aid even though it may seem like it helps you get to sleep quicker. In fact, the quality of the sleep you get is significantly altered and disrupted," he said.
The study was published in the Jan. 16 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
