| The nightcap has quite a following: Up to 15% of | | | | deprivation and the other half by dehydration. Will just |
| people use alcohol to seduce the sandman, large-scale | | | | one glass of booze have a negative effect? No, |
| surveys show. Alcohol's sleep-inducing effects occur | | | | Breus says. It's when you get to two, three or four |
| partly because it's a muscle relaxant (relaxed muscles | | | | glasses that the problems start. And whether you drink |
| help you fall asleep more quickly), and partly because | | | | wine, beer or hard liquor (brandy, whiskey, etc.,) doesn't |
| it's a psychological (or emotional) relaxant, says clinical | | | | make a difference--it's the drink's ethanol content (a |
| psychologist Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., author of Beauty | | | | generic name for alcohol)--that matters. Here's how |
| Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great | | | | the drinks break down: A standard "drink" of ethanol |
| Through Better Sleep, which helps knock you out | | | | equals 10 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol content); |
| faster, especially if you're feeling stressed. | | | | between 3 and 4 ounces of wine (12% alcohol |
| Once your body starts relaxing, it continues to relax as | | | | content); or 1 ounce of hard liquor (40% alcohol |
| you fall asleep. But watch out! This is when the alcohol | | | | content). |
| causes your body to veer from its normal, healthy | | | | Plus, if you're a regular imbiber-say a glass of wine |
| course, Breus says. Alcohol's powerful knock-out-fast | | | | with dinner daily-you'll build up a tolerance to the |
| effects pilfer part of the other sleep stages you need. | | | | effects of alcohol, which means you won't be as |
| It forces you to stay in the lighter stages of sleep and | | | | sedated as if you go out drinking on Friday and |
| makes it hard for you to enter both deep and REM | | | | Saturday nights alone. Basically, you're better off |
| sleep, important stages for waking up refreshed and | | | | drinking a small amount of alcohol each day than |
| ready to handle the day. This happens later in the night, | | | | overdoing it on the weekend. Before too long, you'll be |
| when your body has mostly metabolized the sugar in | | | | accustomed to its effects and be drifting off into an |
| the alcohol. Your sleep becomes light and fragmented, | | | | all-night restful slumber. |
| and you're prone to frequent awakenings (often to hit | | | | 5 Smart Sleep Tips |
| the bathroom). | | | | If you do drink here's how to make sure it won't |
| You may also struggle with snoring, nightmares, | | | | hamper your shuteye: |
| insomnia and night sweats. (Because alcohol is a | | | | 1) Finish drinking at least 3 hours before bedtime. |
| diuretic, as it flushes out of your system, it can affect | | | | 2) Don't overdo your imbibing-stick with one or two |
| your body's ability to maintain a normal temperature.) | | | | drinks per day. |
| And if you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, be | | | | 3) Try not to stay up too much past your usual |
| extra careful when mixing sleep with alcohol. As a | | | | bedtime-this only increases alcohol's sleep-depriving |
| muscle relaxant, it causes the muscles at the back of | | | | effects. |
| your throat to relax even more than usual, worsening | | | | 4) Know exactly what one drink means: 1 beer = 1 |
| sleep apnea's symptoms. In fact, research from the | | | | glass of wine = 1 shot of hard liquor. |
| University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, shows that men, | | | | 5) Follow Breus' one for one rule: Drink one glass of |
| especially, have longer episodes of sleep-disordered | | | | water for every glass of alcohol. This will slow down |
| breathing after drinking alcohol. | | | | your drinking, and help prevent dehydration. And |
| The Morning After | | | | downing a few extra glasses of water the next |
| Half of the hangover that hits you the morning after a | | | | morning to help get your fluid levels back to normal |
| few extra glasses of wine is caused by sleep | | | | again. |