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Alcohol
and Sleep Transcript
University
of Michigan Health System RNS, Alcohol and Sleep, April 2002
Full press release at the following URL:
http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2002/alcoholsleep.htm
Alcohol before bed: No Rx for insomnia
Suggested
Lead: Before you settle into bed to sip on the traditional nightcap
this evening, you may want to know the effect that even one alcoholic
drink can have on your sleep. Here is Andi McDonnell with more.
TRT 1:51
SOQ
Many people
think of alcohol as a substance that can help them relax after a
long day at the office or even act as a sleeping aid after a stressful
or active day.
But studies
have shown that a drink before bed can have a serious effect on
sleep, often aggravating insomnia rather than eliminating it. And
for those people at risk for alcohol dependence, drinking regularly
before bed, over time, could lead to dependency.
Dr Kirk Brower,
a U-M addiction psychiatrist tells us. . . .
"A vicious
cycle can develop in people who have insomnia and use alcohol
to help them sleep, in that the alcohol may initially be used
to help people to sleep. Over time it disrupts sleep so then that
leads to an increase in the use of alcohol which leads to an increase
in insomnia and the cycle is then started."
When that happens,
alcohol dependence is often a matter of life and death. In many
cases leading to automobile accidents, liver and brain disease and
some forms of cancer. That's why Brower and his colleagues have
decided to explore ways to help alcohol dependent people with their
sleep problems to prevent them from using an alcoholic "nightcap"
as a solution. Brower explains...
"As
an addiction psychiatrist, we are always looking for ways to kind
of help people with sleep and other problems without resorting
to drugs that may have some abuse potential, and there are a variety
of other medications that are on the market that are not necessarily
indicated for sleep per se, but are indicated for treating other
disorders such as depression or epilepsy. And we have found that
some of those medications work quite well in people with alcohol
dependence."
According to
Brower, professional treatment for alcohol dependence does work.
Studies have shown that about two-thirds of people who undergo treatment
for the condition either significantly reduce their drinking or
are able to abstain from alcohol completely.
From Ann Arbor,
I'm Andi McDonnell
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Additional
PRMC Info
