The Four Problems With Alcohol and Sleep

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Alcohol is in a class of drugs that we call the sedatives. What you're doing with alcohol is sedating your brain, and sedation is not sleep. We produce peak levels of many of our key hormones during rem sleep. It's profoundly important for stabilizing our mental health. Rem sleep is also essential for creativity, learning and memory. A couple of doses of alcohol in the evening resulted in a 50% decrease in growth hormon at night. And one bad night of sleep isn't the end of the world.

Renowned sleep scientist Matthew Walker discusses everything you need to know about what a better night’s sleep can do for your life, and how to prioritize and perfect the way you sleep. Walker breaks down how to identify when you need more sleep, how to deal with insomnia, the best devices to track your sleep, and some unconventional sleep hygiene tips, including why it’s never a good idea to count sheep. Walker is a Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, and is also the founder and director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. He has published over 100 scientific research studies on the impact of sleep on human brain function, and he is the author of the 2017 book, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. --

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