Having a Nightcap May Hinder Sleep, Study Says
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Peter Högström/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Having a stiff drink before bedtime may not help you get to sleep, researchers say.
According to a study published in the journal Alcohol, researchers in Melbourne, Australia, studied the brain waves of 24 young adults who were given either an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink before sleep on three non-consecutive nights. Participants were given either a screwdriver — orange juice and vodka — or plain orange juice shortly before bed.
Researchers said that the participants who had the alcoholic drink were more likely to have sleep disturbances based on brain wave changes. Those changes, they say, could result in interruption of sleep.
The study was a small one, and further research is needed to determine differences between age groups, alternate doses of alcohol, and the impact on potential habitual drinkers. Researchers also looked only at brain waves and not how participants functioned the following day or how the subjects felt they slept.
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