Alcohol and Insomnia: Better Put A Cap On Your Nightcap
A Japanese study has concluded that drinking alcohol before bed does not help you sleep; and in fact may contribute to sleep disturbance.
The survey determined that an average of 48.3 percent of males and 18.3 percent of females were in the habit of imbibing before bedding down, with the percentages particularly high among men in the 55-59 age group and women age 40 to 44.
Statistics were then formulated to determine the correlation between insomnia and consumption of alcohol at bedtime, and from this it was revealed that a significant number of those consumed alcohol before they slept tended to awaken during the night.
“Some physical factors may be involved,” concedes [physician Yoshitaka] Kaneita, “such as the need to get up to urinate, or waking up due to thirst. But the pattern of drinking at bedtime resulting in interrupted sleep was clear.”
