Bedtime Alcohol Consumption Causes Poor Sleep: Study

A sip of alcohol before bed is not the key to sound sleep a new study claims, flying in the face of contrary conventional beliefs.

According to Time, the study conducted by researchers at Melbourne School of Psychological Sleep Sciences showed that alcohol consumption before bedtime heightened brain activity associated with neuron replenishment and overall restoration but also increased activity of the brain normally seen during daytime. Researchers concluded that two conflicting changes could cause sleep disturbance and affect quality.

The study involved 24 women and men aged between 18 and 21 years who were asked to take alcohol mixed with orange juice and just orange juice (placebo) during the study period. The brain activity was measured using electrodes. Researchers found that on the days participants consumed alcohol, the readings showed higher 'delta activity', normally associated with restorative function. But this was accompanied by increased alpha activity which is associated with an alert but relaxed state of mind during daytime, Daily Mail reported.

"Results suggest that alcohol may exert an arousal influence which may compete with the sleep maintenance influence of increased delta activity. The phenomenon is similar to, or the same as, alpha-delta sleep which has been associated with the presence of disruptive stimuli during sleep. This may have negative implications for the impact of presleep alcohol consumption on sleep and consequent daytime functioning," researchers concluded. The findings were published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.