Four Substances That Steal Sleep

Are you overlooking the effect of your regular routines on your rest?

The allure of a new product or a cool hack is undeniable, but for most people, the results are disappointing. Why? More often than not, the problem with your sleep isn’t that you need to do more things. Instead, try finding things you could do less of.

It’s common to have blind spots around your daily habits, so you might not even be aware of how your day-to-day choices sabotage your sleep. A great place to start is to examine your relationship with common substances you’re likely exposing your body to regularly.

Let’s look at some common questions people have about substances and sleep.

Sorry, but it does. Alcohol can make you feel sleepy, but the sleep you get after drinking is not normal, restful sleep. Alcohol leads to fragmentation of sleep by causing frequent, short awakenings throughout the night (that you may not remember). As a result, you do not get the continuous sleep you need to be well-rested. Sleep in the second part of the night (when more deep sleep happens) is especially impacted, as the sedation you initially felt wears off². Alcohol also suppresses REM sleep by generating aldehydes, which alter patterns of brainwaves. REM sleep is super important for processing memory and emotion, and lack of REM sleep has been shown to decrease learning and, in extreme cases, even cause hallucinations.

It doesn’t take a lot of alcohol to mess with sleep — though more seems to make it worse, and long-term heavy use is definitely bad for sleep³. It’s also important to note that if you have sleep apnea, alcohol is probably making that worse, too. The upshot is that if you struggle with fatigue or sleep problems, reducing or eliminating alcohol intake is probably going to help (though depending on…

Related posts:

My dog and I walked along a dark street, our way lit by streetlamps and the flickering light from the windows of late-night TV watchers. It was November. Nights were long, days were short and the…

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an essential tool for businesses across industries, and marketing is no exception. AI can help marketers to better understand customer behavior, personalize…

Donald Trump says he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and has urged his supporters to launch mass protests. “OUR NATION IS NOW THIRD WORLD & DYING. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD! THE RADICAL LEFT…