WANT TO SNOOZE? CUT OUT BOOZE!

EVERYONE knows you drop off much more smoothly after a few drinks, right? Alcohol is well-known to be a sedative and if heightened stress levels are making you feel a little wired, that evening glass of wine can have huge appeal.

In fact, an estimated 45 per cent of people with long-term insomnia drink alcohol to help them sleep. But they could not be more wrong. It actually triggers a dramatic clash of brain patterns.

Research has shown that after drinking, the production of adenosine (a sleep-inducing chemical in the brain) is increased and the brain appears to have more delta wave activity (the replenishing of cells and clearing up of fragmented thoughts), which usually happens in deep sleep.

But as the night progresses, the alcohol appears to trigger opposing alpha wave activity, which normally occurs only when the brain is awake, but resting.

The alpha waves seem to offset the restorative efforts of the delta waves, causing a clash that disturbs your sleep and leaves you feeling exhausted the next day.

Researchers noted that clashing brain patterns like this are normally seen only among people with chronic pain conditions.

And it takes only a few drinks to aggravate snoring, because alcohol causes your whole body to relax, including the muscles of your throat. This can stop air flowing smoothly — it’s like turning the volume dial to maximum.

You are also more likely to be disturbed by needing frequent night-time trips to the loo.

Normally your body shuts down messages to and from your bladder at night, putting it into hibernation, but because alcohol acts as a diuretic (it draws fluid from your tissues) you are much more likely to be woken by an urge to go to the loo.

And it’s not just the liquid you’ve drunk that you’ll be getting rid of. The diuretic effect means alcohol encourages the body to lose extra fluid though sweat, too, making you dehydrated and thirsty, which could also wake you up.

So if you want a quick fix for your sleep problems, try cutting out alcohol for a few days instead and monitor your sleep diary to see if it helps.

If that seems too onerous, at the very least you should avoid drinking just before bedtime.

It takes the body roughly one hour to metabolise each unit of alcohol, so a glass of wine in the early evening should give your body enough time to process the alcohol before trying to sleep.

Allow one hour per unit — that’s around two hours for a standard glass of wine.