Why does avoiding drinking at night may make you snore less?
Many people prefer having a glass or two of alcohol before drifting off to sleep. It helps them deal with the day’s stress and allows them to cool off. People claim that alcohol relaxes their brains and assists them with sleep. But is this true? Does drinking actually help with rest, or is it a misconception? To find out the answer to that question, read the following sections. Here you go!
How does alcohol affect the body?
To conclude how alcohol affects your sleep, it is vital to understand how drinking impacts your body.
Regardless of the type of alcohol you have, you should know that drinking starts affecting the body within ten to twenty minutes of consumption. Typically, the impact stays for about 14 hours. During this time, your body processes the drink, and the liver finally manages to remove it from the bloodstream to allow your brain to return to normal.
The booze makes it through the body and acts as a relaxant when drinking. As a result, all the muscles in your system start relaxing and begin feeling less tensed. The ones in your mouth or throat also loosen up. Because of this, the airway gets obstructed, which makes you more likely to snore.
Explain the link between snoring and alcohol
Generally, snoring occurs when the air passages in the throat, back of the mouth, and nose get blocked. And this is what happens when you have a glass of wine. When one drinks, the air has to force its way through the tight airways because of the collapse of the muscles. This action that results in a loud wheezing noise known as snoring is called respiratory resistance. When a person is asleep, the resistance rises because of the weight and gravity. It makes people take deep breaths while resting. Those who drink experience a resistance four times higher than the regular folk. If anyone already snores and then drinks on top of that, respiratory resistance can rise to eight times. Thus, people searching for ways how to stop snoring are recommended to give up drinking.
How does consuming alcohol affect your sleep quality?
Consuming alcohol relaxes the muscles in the throat and mouth. It makes you snore at night and affects your sleep quality. But, this is not it. Having alcohol has an even more significant impact on your system. When you drink, you fall asleep faster than normal. But, what happens after this is different from what occurs with your typical cycle. Drinking booze makes your body spend less time in the REM sleep. It is not ideal as rapid eye movement sleep is the most crucial rest phase. It is the time when your concentration and motor skills develop.
At night when you drink, your quality of sleep degrades due to the lack of REM sleep. As a result, you wake up feeling tired and exhausted the following day. In addition to this, some people also report experiencing night sweats, insomnia, or hangover in the morning.
Thus, having alcohol right before bed is not suitable for your sleep. While it helps you doze off early, consuming drinks is known to degrade your sleep quality.
