Sleep, we all need it and we all crave it. However, for those who like to relax on the weekends with a drink in hand may be suffering from lack of sleep. For most people, the recommended average hours of sleep is eight; are you getting all eight? Usually most people use the weekend to catch up on sleep but many people don’t realize their drinking habits can actually get in the way of this.
According to a study done in 2001 by Brown University, “Only 11% of college students have good sleep quality, and 73% have occasional sleep problems. This same study found that 18% of college men and 30% of college women reported suffering from insomnia within the past 3 months, and over half reported feeling sleepy during the morning.” College students already suffer from a lack of sleep during the week due to staying up late at night working on homework; so are you using your weekends effectively?
You go through two different stages of sleep, Non-REM and REM. Non-REM consists of three stages: a 5 minute transition phase, then a 10-20 minute light sleep, then deep sleep. After deep sleep concludes, REM sleep begins and is about 70-90 minutes long and is the most important stage because it is where neural connections from the day are made and neurotransmitters are replenished, such as serotonin and dopamine. Alcohol decreases your time in REM sleep, which is extremely detrimental to your overall mental and physical health. In an article from The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism written by Timothy Rohr’s (Ph.D.) and Thomas Roth (Ph.D.) they addressed multiple different studies conducted on the effects of alcohol on sleep, and all studies found that REM sleep is very disturbed and it can take 2-3 days to recover from.
In conclusion, it is recommended to avoid alcoholic drinks close to bedtime if you want to ensure a full nights rest in order to function properly the next day. In such a demanding lifestyle, it is essential you are allowing your body this vital time to recover. Therefore, you have to make decisions that allow for a successful eight hours of sleep.
Works Cited
“How Much Sleep Do You Need?” Helpguide.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-much-sleep-do-you-need.htm>.
Roehrs, Timothy, and Thomas Roth. “Sleep, Sleepiness, and Alcohol Use.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-2/101-109.htm>.
“Sleep.” Brown University Health Promotion. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/common_college_health_issues/sleep.php>.
This article is interesting because I would have thought the opposite. Since alcohol is a depressant I would think it would make you sleep longer. When people drink too much and they pass out it seems like they would be in a deep sleep for a while. This article explains that alcohol makes you fall into a deeper sleep, but like you said it disrupts the REM which is the most important. College kids are definitely at a higher risk with this because they are already sleep deprived and they want to “let loose” on the weekends by drinking but they are actually hurting themselves even more. What a vicious cycle!