Why is it when I drink I can't sleep for more than 6 hours?

[CRXican]

this happened to me on Friday/Saturday. passed out around 1:30 am, was up at 6:30 and couldn't sleep, hangover kept me up for a few hours but when my head stopped hurting I was able to get a good nap in

 

[Broheim]

I always wake up at 6.30ish when I've been out drinking, a stupid habit I picked up in the army, luckily I don't get hangovers.

 

[Whisper]

Not sure if it's been said already, but a big part of it is because your autonomic nervous system--which has been compensating the whole night for the depressant effects of alcohol--is still hyperactive, causing those fun feelings of jitters/restlessness, elevated heart rate, etc. That, mixed with the general crappiness of a hangover, tends to make it difficult to sleep for a few hours.

 

[Fritzo]

Kind of the same way, but I can't get to sleep. I feel super tired, but I can't get to sleep.

My body seems to have a cutoff switch where I get sick before I get drunk, so I have to stop before I get to that point.

 

[OverVolt]

Beer and wine in general are high in histamine, and histamine levels play a large role in night time wakefulness. Alcohol also renders the enzyme that normally breaks down histamine in food inert, and people like to eat when they're drunk, like pizza and burgers, which are also high in histamine. I just don't eat when I'm drunk even though I really want to, because it makes it impossible to sleep even though I want to pass out, then after being awake for 24hours I can still get a hangover. Took forever for me to figure out why other people were passing out and I couldn't sleep.

 

[alkemyst]

It's been proven 8 hours is not a good length to sleep. 6 hours is the sweet spot.

 

[Fritzo]

It's been proven 8 hours is not a good length to sleep. 6 hours is the sweet spot.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need

Two studies suggest that healthy adults have a basal sleep need of seven to eight hours every night, but where things get complicated is the interaction between the basal need and sleep debt. For instance, you might meet your basal sleep need on any single night or a few nights in a row, but still have an unresolved sleep debt that may make you feel more sleepy and less alert at times, particularly in conjunction with circadian dips, those times in the 24-hour cycle when we are biologically programmed to be more sleepy and less alert, such as overnight hours and mid-afternoon. You may feel overwhelmingly sleepy quite suddenly at these times, shortly before bedtime or feel sleepy upon awakening. The good news is that some research suggests that the accumulated sleep debt can be worked down or "paid off."

 

[Demo24]

It's been proven 8 hours is not a good length to sleep. 6 hours is the sweet spot.

Proven by who exactly. Considering this figure varies significant by several hours for each individual, sounds like you're spewing more bs to me.

 

[alkemyst]

Proven by who exactly. Considering this figure varies significant by several hours for each individual, sounds like you're spewing more bs to me.

lolwut? back to the peanut gallery.

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/14/sleep.study/index.html

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Meh... six hours for me, drunk or sober. Makes no difference.

 

[CRXican]

Not sure if it's been said already, but a big part of it is because your autonomic nervous system--which has been compensating the whole night for the depressant effects of alcohol--is still hyperactive, causing those fun feelings of jitters/restlessness, elevated heart rate, etc. That, mixed with the general crappiness of a hangover, tends to make it difficult to sleep for a few hours.

interesting

the pounding heart is the worst

 

[eldorado99]

I would say it has a lot to do with dehydration as others have said, but I'm sure there is more than one factor at work. The problem I find that when you try to drink enough water the night before to compensate, you end up waking up more often to piss.

 

[HAL9000]

Tags are accurate.

 

[Leros]

Its weird.

I can go to bed sober, get 8 hours of sleep, and feel awful the next day. I can go to bed drunk, get 5 hours of sleep, and wake up feeling amazing.

 

[Exterous]

Lots of interesting info here - thanks guys

 

[Doppel]

It's well known that alcohol negatively impacts sleep quality, even for those who think they are in a "deep" sleep; booze introduces poor sleep time.

 

[Doppel]

lolwut? back to the peanut gallery.

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/14/sleep.study/index.html

Correlationa;. The article even says causality cannot be inferred. I strongly suspect that those inclined to die earlier for whatever reason as part of their life also sleep longer (poor health, laziness, etc.); there's no reason whatsoever to think that forcing oneself to sleep for, say, 6 hours instead of 8 is good for them. If you wake up two hours early and workout, though, that's a good thing.

 

[Demo24]

lolwut? back to the peanut gallery.

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/02/14/sleep.study/index.html

, your link there didn't prove anything nor did it back up your previous statement.

 

[Imp]

Wine usually helps me sleep a bit. Hard liquor and beer just keeps me awake and wakes me up throughout the night.

On that note, I had a nice 8 oz glass of wine for the past 2 nights, and slept great... Got up at 1pm today!

 

[Analog]

excerpt:

Because alcohol is a depressant that relaxes the brain, it can make it easier to fall asleep. Nonetheless, alcohol can make sleep lighter and more fragmented for it suppresses deep sleep and dream sleep by impairing the functioning of the sleep system. As a result, we are more likely to awaken feeling unrefreshed. Alcohol also disturbs sleep because, as it is metabolized during sleep, it produces mild withdrawal symptoms that cause sleep to become interrupted, shortened, and fragmented. These disruptions result in lighter sleep and more awakenings, particularly in the early morning. Alcohol also exacerbates snoring and sleep apnea because it relaxes the muscles in the throat.
It requires about one and one-half hours to metabolize one ounce of alcohol; the mild withdrawal effects last for another two to four hours. This means that a glass of wine with dinner will probably not affect sleep. However, one ounce of alcohol within two hours of bedtime or more than one ounce after dinner probably will disrupt sleep. Therefore, if you drink alcoholic beverages in the evening, you will minimize sleep problems if you limit yourself to one drink at least two hours before bedtime.

 

[gorcorps]

This may have been covered already... but it stands to reason that after drinking so much you have to pee.

 

[jupiter57]

If you're so fucking cool what are you doing here?

A: I'm far from "Cool"!
B: I am here strictly for the lulz.

 

[alkemyst]

, your link there didn't prove anything nor did it back up your previous statement.

I don't have time to do the research you can from that article, nor care to prove this crusade.

IMHO most need 8 hours because at least 2 of it is spent outside of sleep during the night.

IF you can get a full 4-6 hours in of sleep every night without interruption I believe that would be ideal for both health and personal growth.

 

[Demo24]

I don't have time to do the research you can from that article, nor care to prove this crusade.

IMHO most need 8 hours because at least 2 of it is spent outside of sleep during the night.

IF you can get a full 4-6 hours in of sleep every night without interruption I believe that would be ideal for both health and personal growth.

I already know the stats so I have no need to research them. You on the other hand claimed something that's not entirely true and then turned it into your own opinion.

 

[zinfamous]

I don't have time to do the research you can from that article, nor care to prove this crusade.

IMHO most need 8 hours because at least 2 of it is spent outside of sleep during the night.

IF you can get a full 4-6 hours in of sleep every night without interruption I believe that would be ideal for both health and personal growth.

it all depends on the type of sleep you get. Short, effective naps--i.e, primarily 15-30 min of REM sleep during that time, is better than several hours of non-REM sleep.

Your body cycles though several patterns throughout the sleep period, and it all depends on the individual.

also, much of the sleep research is very, very new. I don't know why it became a somewhat hot topic, maybe it's related to nutrition and general behavioral research, but it seems like sleep studies are all over the place these days.

one of the prevailing opinions right now is that a midday 1-hour nap would be a great benefit to almost all adults.