Having a little “nip” of something at bedtime is traditionally supposed to help you sleep.
Maybe it does; but is it the right kind of sleep? Probably not.
A Japanese study, published Aug 2011 online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, looked at the quality of sleep after alcohol intake. They found disturbing news. Alcohol interferes with the nourishing and restorative aspect of sleep.
They tested 10 male university students (hardly “normal” human beings!). Using electrocardiograms, the researchers focused on the relationship between the volunteers’ heart rate variability and their sleep. The team found that alcohol increased heart rate and interfered with the restorative functions of sleep — and the more alcohol the participants drank, the greater the effect.
Apparently, the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looks good on the EEG. But assessment of autonomic nerve function showed that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep.
The effect on habitual drinkers might be even worse, the researchers pointed out. This was a study after only ONE dose.
Certainly, anyone who drinks regularly will have observed that alcohol causes insomnia. It’s hardly surprising that alcohol should have negative consequences on the quality of sleep.
My only complaint is the usual one for alcohol studies: the researchers did not differentiate what TYPE of alcohol. All good research points to the fact that wine is healthful. But beer and spirits are not.
beer and whisky because they are derived from grains- likely to be poorly tolerated.
I dont recall your reports about fixing alcoholics but offer the chapter on alcohol from Theron Rabdolph’s “Your Hidden Enemies” to anyone I can interest ML
Here is a quote from another alternative health site – to counterbalance the post by Marie. I’d add – go for real ales and real lagers not the commercial brews, such as Lion, or DB, or Tooths, or Tooheys, or Marston, or Greene King, or Bud, or Coors. Real beers, brewed with care and brews with flavour. They cost more – but as it is only one (rather than a six-pack), the cost is worth it!
“When it comes to booze and heart health, wine usually gets all the attention and though it quite deserves it. It’s not the only healthy adult beverage in the bar. In fact, you can get just about all the benefits of wine and then some from plain old beer — and the latest research confirms that a cold brew is every bit as good for your heart as a glass of red.
Researchers from Italy’s Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura say their survey of 200,000 people from around the world finds that regular beer drinkers have a 31 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who don’t drink booze at all.
That’s precisely the same decrease in heart risk enjoyed by wine drinkers — but it’s coming from hops and barley instead of grapes, according to the study in the European Journal of Epidemiology.
And that’s not all beer can do for you — not even close. Beer is also rich in potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and key antioxidants. It can help lower the inflammation linked to heart disease and other serious problems, and raise levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol by as much as 12 percent.
Beer is also the single best source of dietary silicon around, which can help protect your bones as you age.
One study even found that dieters who drink beer can lose more weight — proving that the so-called “beer belly” is a myth. If you see a drinker with a big belly, take a look at what he’s eating — because that’s almost certainly the real reason for his keg-sized gut.
Of course, whether you drink wine or beer, you’ll only get the benefits if you make your habit a moderate one and cut yourself off before you drink too much (and if you have to wonder if you’ve had too much, you’ve probably reached that point). Keep it to a glass or two a night, and you’ll enjoy both the benefits and the taste.”
So, beer and wine – are neither to be feared.