Alcohol Use May Fuel Insomnia, Research Says

Sharon Moore December 12, 2014

Scientists from University of Missouri School of Medicine drinking alcohol to fall asleep may ultimately be counterproductive as the drug interferes with how the body regulates sleep. According to them, over time, the impairment in normal sleep function can result in insomnia.

Many people believe that a bottle or two of alcohol is a great way to fall asleep faster. Alcohol is known to be a powerful or sleep inducer. But the new findings suggest that alcohol interferes with the brain’s built-in system for regulating a person’s need for sleep.

“The prevailing thought was that alcohol promotes sleep by changing a person’s circadian rhythm — the body’s built-in 24-hour clock,” Thakkar said.

“However, we discovered that alcohol actually promotes sleep by affecting a person’s sleep homeostasis — the brain’s built-in mechanism that regulates your sleepiness and wakefulness.”

Sleep Homeostasis

Sleep homeostasis balances the body’s need for sleep in relation to how long a person has been awake. If an individual loses sleep, the body produces adenosine, a naturally occurring sleep-regulating substance that increases a person’s need for sleep.

When a person goes to sleep early, sleep homeostasis is shifted and he or she may wake up in the middle of the night or early morning. The researchers found that alcohol alters the sleep homeostatic mechanism and puts pressure on an individual to sleep. When this happens, the sleep period is shifted, and a person may experience disrupted sleep.

“Based on our results, it’s clear that alcohol should not be used as a sleep aid,” said Pradeep Sahota, M.D., chair of the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and an author of the study.

“Alcohol disrupts sleep and the quality of sleep is diminished. Additionally, alcohol is a diuretic, which increases your need to go the bathroom and causes you to wake up earlier in the morning.”

The researchers also studied how alcohol withdrawal affects sleep.

They found that after extended periods of frequent drinking, subjects would fall asleep as expected, but would wake within a few hours and would be unable to fall back asleep. When the subjects were not given alcohol, the researchers found that subjects showed symptomatic insomnia.

“During acute alcohol withdrawal, subjects displayed a significant increase in wakefulness with a reduction in rapid eye movement (REM) and non-rapid eye movement sleep,” Thakkar said. “This caused insomnia-like symptoms and suggests an impaired sleep homeostasis.”

“Sleep is an immense area of study,” Thakkar said. “Approximately one-third of our life is spent sleeping. Coupled with statistics that show 20 percent of people drink alcohol to sleep, it’s vital that we understand how the two interact.

“If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, don’t use alcohol. Talk to your doctor or a sleep medicine physician to determine what factors are keeping you from sleeping. These factors can then be addressed with individualised treatments.”

The study was published in the journal Alcohol.

Source of this article: Alcohol Use Can Impair Sleep, Cause Insomnia