How Alcohol Could Be Negatively Affecting Your Sleep

While alcohol can help you unwind from stress, it results in poorer sleep quality throughout the night. Here are four ways alcohol may be affecting your sleep:

1. Alcohol interrupts your circadian rhythms – Your circadian rhythm is your body’s sleep-and-wake cycle. Alcohol disrupts this rhythm by suppressing the production of melatonin – an important hormone that regulates sleep.

2. Alcohol blocks REM sleep – REM, or rapid eye movement sleep is an important stage of sleep involved with memory consolidation and learning. Drinking alcohol delays your body’s ability to fall into this stage of sleep, which typically occurs in the first 90 minutes. This will result in less restorative sleep and can increase the risk of early onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

3. Alcohol can lead to frequent urination at night – Alcohol is a diuretic which increases urination. This can disturb your sleep several times throughout the night making it difficult to fall into deep sleep.

4. Alcohol worsens breathing problems while sleeping – Alcohol is a muscle relaxant which can relax your upper airway muscles causing them to close in, blocking the airways. This can worsen sleep apnea as well as affect the central nervous system by slowing down heart rate and your respiratory system.

The CPAP Clinic has a network of 40 clinics nationwide, and works in partnership with Centurion Healthcare, a Respiratory & Sleep Specialist clinic group to provide comprehensive sleep care including:

1. Respiratory & Sleep Specialist consultation – face-to-face and telehealth available
2. Sleep studies – in-lab, home and contactless sleep studies available.

Bulk billing available for specialist telehealth consultations as well as sleep studies. Medicare criteria apply. Call 1300 76 29 39 or email info@thecpapclinic.com.au for more information.