Search resultsSleep, sleepiness, and alcohol use
Title
Sleep, sleepiness, and alcohol use
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2001
Authors
Journal
Alcohol Research and Health
Volume
25
Issue
2
Pagination
101 - 109
Date published
2001
ISBN
0090838X (ISSN)
Keywords
alcohol, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholism, Animal, Animals, attention, blood, body temperature, circadian rhythm, circadian rhythm sleep disorder, dose response, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, drinking behavior, drug effect, Ethanol, human, Humans, insomnia, Melatonin, NREM (nonrapid eye movement) sleep, pathophysiology, Physiological AODE (effects of alcohol or other drug use, abuse, and dependence), physiology, prolactin, REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, review, sleep deprivation, sleep disorder, Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm, sleep stage, Sleep Stages, Time of day
Abstract
The study of alcohol's effects on sleep dates back to the late 1930s. Since then, an extensive literature has described alcohol's effects on the sleep of healthy, nonalcoholic people. For example, studies found that in nonalcoholics who occasionally use alcohol, both high and low doses of alcohol initially improve sleep, although high alcohol doses can result in sleep disturbances during the second half of the nocturnal sleep period. Furthermore, people can rapidly develop tolerance to the sedative effects of alcohol. Researchers have investigated the interactive effects of alcohol with other determinants of daytime sleepiness. Such studies indicate that alcohol interacts with sleep deprivation and sleep restriction to exacerbate daytime sleepiness and alcohol-induced performance impairments. Alcohol's effects on other physiological functions during sleep have yet to be documented thoroughly and unequivocally.