PREVIEW

Why Alcohol Can Disrupt Healthy Sleep. While a couple of drinks may help you fall asleep, experts say those same drinks may disrupt the later stages of sleep. "You pay for it in the second half of the night." ["Alcohol is] initially sedating, but as it's metabolized, it's very activating." Experts also point out the obvious: alcohol is a diuretic. "You are going to have to [urinate] more often." "Moderate amounts of alcohol, especially wine and spirits, have an early diuretic effect, especially in the elderly." Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, via 'The New York Times'. Excerpts also caution against mixing alcohol with sleep sedatives. "Alcohol is a sedative. I would not use any sedative hypnotic, whether over-the-counter or not, when you're drinking alcohol.", Dr. Ilene M. Rosen, University of Pennsylvania, via 'The New York Times'. For those with insomnia, it may be tempting to use alcohol to get to sleep but experts caution against this. "I do see a lot of people who self-medicate for insomnia with alcohol, which is definitely not a good practice.", Dr. Sabra Abbott, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, via 'The New York Times'. If you're curious how drinking may be affecting your sleep, experts recommend taking a short break from alcohol to see if its absence makes a difference. "It turns out that if they don't drink, they sleep much better.", Dr. Jennifer Martin, UCLA, via 'The New York Times'. After coming off of a break from alcohol, experts recommend being mindful of how you reintegrate it into your life. "Just make a more informed decision about how much, and how often, [you] consume alcohol.", Dr. Jennifer Martin, UCLA, via 'The New York Times’. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT