The A-Files, Alcohol A-Z for Alcohol Awareness Month: Tiredness and Sleep

See video and online article

Twenty-six episodes of 'The A-Files' air throughout Alcohol Awareness Month on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Alcohologist.com and AddictedMinds.com, among other web and social media sites. Episode T looks at tiredness, fatigue and sleep. A mythology seems to have developed around the impact of alcohol on sleep… and it is true the central nervous system depressant drug alcohol will put a person under sedation quicker.

Alcohol increases deep sleep in the first half of the night, too, but short-term alcohol use only gives the impression of improving sleep. Drinking has a major impact on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is important to physical health, metabolism and mental health. Edinburgh Sleep Centre did the sleep homework (see study in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research) and concluded. "Alcohol on the whole is not useful for improving a whole night's sleep. Sleep may be deeper to start with, but then becomes disrupted. Additionally, that deeper sleep will probably promote snoring and poorer breathing. So, one shouldn't expect better sleep with alcohol."

The majority of studies, across different alcohol dosages, ages and genders, confirm an increase in slow-wave sleep (SWS) in the first half of the night. SWS, or deep sleep, generally promotes rest and restoration. However, when alcohol increases SWS, this may also increase vulnerability to certain sleep problems such as sleepwalking or sleep apnea in those who are predisposed. Alcohol suppresses our breathing. It can turn non-snorers into snorers and snorers into people with sleep apnea - where the breathing's interrupted.

Alcohol's affect on REM sleep is dramatic. REM sleep typically accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the night. Total night REM sleep percentage is halved in the majority of studies at moderate and high doses in so-called “normal” people as well as those with alcohol use disorders, such as the disease of alcoholism. Dreams generally occur in the REM stage of sleep. During REM sleep the brain is more active, and may be regarded as “defragmenting the drive.” REM sleep is also important because it can influence memory and serve restorative functions. Conversely, lack of REM sleep can have a detrimental effect on concentration, motor skills, and memory. When you're tired the next day, blame the alcohol's detrimental impact on solid sleep the whole night through.

There is also a linkage with depression – another thing alcohol mythology says drinking will solve when in fact, alcohol causes and worsens it. The entire 26 episode HD series is available on disc, along with fact sheets, for helping professions. See the preorder special at tr.im/AFiles

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Another interview is on Alcohol Awareness.  Syndicated radio program Savvy Central Radio did this interview, too. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com 

Unexpected alcohol lapse traps in the medicine cabinet

The usual cast of characters that can escort a sober person down the trail toward a lapse goes by the initials PPT: People, Places and Things. For example, you hang out with the same 'ol crew of drinking buddies, what would you expect to happen? They'd just leave you alone? Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud encapsules PPT in a layer of four emotional stressors: Guilt, Shame, Grief and Forgiveness. There could be a relapse lurking in the medicine chest, as well. (Watch the YouTube vid or read the article)

Of course there are cough suppressants that contain alcohol, that's the easy one to figure out. When you're early in sobriety, feeling that familiar burn down the throat could bring on memories of the good old days – which really weren't that good, or you wouldn't be catching Sobriety :60 videos. Alcohol is alcohol, whether it comes in a shotglass or cough syrup.

Sleep aids aren't quite as obvious as relapse traps. Alcohol is a depressant. Sleep aids are depressants. The brain doesn't make such an exact distinction between the two, and historically, drinkers have used alcohol as a sleep aid – or excused their drinking by saying it helps them sleep. It isn't just the prescription sleep aid like abilify. It's also the over-the-counter one, and especially concoctions like Motrin PM or Tylenol PM. I'm guilty as hell on this one, it's in my night stand, too, until this segment is over.

What happens is this...You start using it... Then you “need” it a couple nights in a row. Then one pill isn't doing it, so we take three, because that's the way the alcoholic mind works. You may be developing a dependency, not so much on the actual chemical, but on the feeling of sedation. When the sleep aids don't work for you anymore, where does that leave a person? Back to alcohol. It's a slippery slope. There's another famous relapse acronym to go with PPT, it's HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired.

Here's the very alcoholic reason why I still have the Ibuprofen PM in my nightstand: Because it won't happen to me, the warning is only for those other guys. Right.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

Gender study links alcohol, gender, insomnia and suicide

The Sobriety :60+ episode 44: Previous episodes of The Sobriety :60+ have covered sleep and alcohol, alcohol and suicide, and the ways genders handle alcohol differently. Those are episodes 19, 15 and 42 if you're YouTubing. A new study shows how the three topics converge. Read the transcript 

or share the YouTube vid.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today.

The Sobriety :60 #19 - Alcohol and sleep

Snoring, sleep apnea, and insomnia are among the sleep challenges highlighted in this episode on youtube and the whole transcript is online at alcohologist.com.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

SATURDAY REWIND: Alcohol is, and isn't, a sleep aid

Alcohol is a fairly efficient, cheap and readily accessible central nervous system depressant.  Even though some people react with euphoria or aggression while under the influence, alcohol is a sedative.  It does help put a person to sleep. But as this January article from my archive points out, alcohol does nothing for the quality of sleep, potentially leading to health problems, even for non-alcoholics.

A review of several sleep studies, including one reported on examiner.com last December, bashes myths about alcohol aiding sleep. Results will be published in the April 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research but were released January 22 online.

"Certainly a mythology seems to have developed around the impact of alcohol on sleep," said Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. "It is a good time to review the research as the mythology seems to be flourishing more rapidly than the research itself."

The study confirms that people do fall asleep quicker under the influence and alcohol increases deep sleep in the first half of the night, but has a major impact on rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is important to physical health, metabolism and mental health.  Lead researcher Dr. Irshaad Ebrahim concluded. "The higher the dose, the greater the impact on increasing early sleep. This effect on the first half of sleep may be partly the reason some people with insomnia use alcohol as a sleep aid. However, the effect of consolidating sleep in the first half of the night is offset by having more disrupted sleep in the second half of the night."

Both Ebrahim and Idzikowski hope this review will improve understanding that short-term alcohol use only gives the impression of improving sleep, and it should not be used as a sleep aid. “Alcohol on the whole is not useful for improving a whole night's sleep. Sleep may be deeper to start with, but then becomes disrupted. Additionally, that deeper sleep will probably promote snoring and poorer breathing. So, one shouldn't expect better sleep with alcohol."

The majority of studies, across different alcohol dosages, ages and genders, confirm an increase in slow-wave sleep (SWS) in the first half of the night. "SWS or deep sleep generally promotes rest and restoration," said Ebrahim. "However, when alcohol increases SWS, this may also increase vulnerability to certain sleep problems such as sleepwalking or sleep apnea in those who are predisposed.

"With increasing doses, alcohol suppresses our breathing. It can turn non-snorers into snorers and snorers into people with sleep apnea - where the breathing's interrupted", said Ebrahim.

Alcohol's affect on REM sleep is dramatic. REM sleep typically accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the night. Total night REM sleep percentage is halved in the majority of studies at moderate and high doses in so-called “normal” people as well as those with alcohol use disorders, such as the disease of alcoholism.

Dreams generally occur in the REM stage of sleep. During REM sleep the brain is more active, and may be regarded as “defragmenting the drive,” according to Ebrahim. REM sleep is also important because it can influence memory and serve restorative functions. Conversely, lack of REM sleep can have a detrimental effect on concentration, motor skills, and memory.

"One consequence of a delayed onset of REM sleep would be less restful sleep," he adds. "There is also a linkage with depression."
– from examiner.com
      

 

The older archive article linked in the story's first paragraph takes you to a piece on lethargy and lack of alertness following a night when someone – alcoholic or non-alcoholic – has a nightcap or two or four before bed.

 

Sleep is a problem for those in recovery, a real struggle for the newly sober, and is often a trigger for a return to alcohol use. Getting a good night's sleep is essential, but isn't easy. Over-the-counter remedies are the last house on the block. (Most people in recovery avoid them like the plague.) Getting more, and better, sleep can be encouraged by:

Eliminating or greatly reducing caffeine intake, especially in the 4-6 hours before bedtime;

Getting aerobic exercise during the day, but not in the 4-6 hours before bedtime;

Eating foods that can help sleep such as tryptophan-rich nuts, seeds, honey, bananas. Warm milk sounds disgusting, but it works, too. And;

Abstaining from tobacco before bedtime (or completely). Nicotine is a stimulant, just like caffeine.

www.alcohologist.com