Can't sleep after heavy drinking

[thephenom]

Why is it that when I go to bed buzzed or drunk, I only end up sleeping for like 4 hours and I can't sleep anymore?

I end up staying awake for about 4 or 5 more hours until I'm tired, then going back to bed of like 5 hours after that. In total, I'll get my 8 or 9 hours, but it is split up.

Does this happen to anyone else, or does anyone know why its harder to sleep for a normal or extended period of time when going to bed half cut?

[mbillie1]

The drinking gods are punishing you for attempting to stop drinking like a little bitch before you're good and blacked out. Man up, sally.

[CocoaKrispies]

Happens to me whenever I drink heavily too. Usually I just wake up, chug a couple glasses of water, and then have no problem falling back asleep, so I'd guess that it's dehydration.

[Iconoclastic]

Ha, I never have trouble sleeping after drinking. Usually sleep like a baby.

[guids]

You dont get a good sleep when drunk because alcohol messes with your REM cycle during sleep, which is when your body really gets its rest. even if you sleep for 9 hours after drinking, you still wake up tired because you werent rested because of lack of REM

[rjoefish]

This happens to me. But when I get up to drink water it doesn't help. If I drink a lot and don't drink some water before I sleep I'll sometimes, rarely, wake up so thirsty I just keep drinking water, which leads to me feeling like [censored] and throwing up. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[phatgtdmb]

[ QUOTE ]
You dont get a good sleep when drunk because alcohol messes with your REM cycle during sleep, which is when your body really gets its rest. even if you sleep for 9 hours after drinking, you still wake up tired because you werent rested because of lack of REM

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the right answer.

[TonyG_]

I have this problem also. It takes me forever to fall asleep if ive been drinking that night and i always sleep for a much shorted period of time than on a normal day.

[NT!]

[ QUOTE ]
You dont get a good sleep when drunk because alcohol messes with your REM cycle during sleep, which is when your body really gets its rest. even if you sleep for 9 hours after drinking, you still wake up tired because you werent rested because of lack of REM

[/ QUOTE ]

this makes sense. i always figured that it was because my body was metabolizing all the alcohol and carbs in beer into sugar and it was preventing me from resting or something. i definitely noticed that if i get drunk and don't go to bed right away, but stop drinking, it tends to make it hard for me to go to sleep.

[divides_by_zero]

Weirdly enough - I sleep less when drinking but actually wake up feeling BETTER rested. My mother is the same way. My friends call me "Bender."

However, since REM sleep is related to dreaming and I dream a lot which ends up making me feel like I never get any real sleep, I wonder if by cutting my REM sleep I actually feel better rested because I haven't been up all night in my head.

I know I am exception to the general rule - but I'm curious if there are other exceptions. REM sleep and its importance, heck sleep in general, still has much to be learned about.