Alcohol

Once in  while I enjoy a little booze at the end of the day. I go through phases. For ages I won't touch the stuff. Then I will have one maybe every other night for a few weeks. I notice, with no surprise, that on the mornings after I've had some alcohol, even though it is just one drink, I am more tired. More sluggish. It's harder to wake up when the kids inform me, much in the style of an alarm clock, that it's time to get up. And my mood is not as good. Add to that my long-standing ritual of sending caffeine through my veins before any food is introduced, and I'm starting the day all over the place. Depressants followed by stimulants, in a body that is very sensitive to any and all of that kind of thing. Wheee! So I thought it might be interesting to find out just what's going on there.

Well, this is not exactly the information I was looking for, but it's really interesting. Check out this link.

I want to know why I feel so sluggish and tired the next morning even after one drink. Hm....

From the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education at the University of Notre Dame:Alcohol interferes with your sleep cycle by disrupting the sequence and duration of normal sleep, thus reducing your brain’s ability to retain information. The REM stage of sleep is compromised after a night of drinking, which is vital to memory. Therefore, even though someone who has been drinking might look as if they are crashed out, they will not be getting the deep sleep that is needed to recharge their batteries. The sleep deprivation suppresses normal hormonal levels decreasing oxygen availability and consumption, thus decreasing endurance.

People are still likely to feel tired after sleeping following a night of drinking as they will have missed out on quality sleep.

Alcohol relaxes the pharyngeal muscles, in the back of the mouth, increasing the likelihood of snoring.

But after only one drink? Can I be that sensitive? Or maybe it's the combination of drinking a drink and staying up later that I normally would. Which ultimately is an effect of alcohol as well, as likely as not. Hm. And of course then it's a domino effect from there. Alcohol makes me tired. Being tired makes me feel lazy. When I'm lazy I cut corners with meals, exercise, getting outside, managing my kids' needs most effectively. And so forth. So is the answer in the question? Hm. 

Just a thought: is the reason alcohol is sometimes found in cough suppressants and other cold/flu medicines there for that reason? Is is supposed to force the taker to feel tired and in that way encourage (almost force) rest? Hm!