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Why does alcohol cause me to wake up early?
I've been a drinker for about ten years now (About to hit 29) but in the last 2-3 years I've had a problem where after drinking many units of alcohol, like a bottle of red wine or several bottles of dark ale or vodka and diet coke, and falling asleep then I'll wake up between 4, 5 or 6 AM. My heartbeat is quite fast and sometimes I'll remain awake for about one hour before I can fall asleep again, other times I can't.
What exactly is happening? Is it the intoxication wearing off? Or is it a sugar rush after my body has processed the alcohol in my stomach? I don't think it's dream related because I can never quite remember any.
Needless to say, I'm very much sick of it and though I found that drinking lager helped to avoid the problem - after feeling fed up with hangovers in general and their effect on my productivity - I've cut down on my drinking, as sleep is much more important, but I'm curious what was happening.
2 Answers
- HayleyLv 59 years agoFavorite Answer
When you drink, your body falls into an un-natural sleep. Your body is working hard to rid your body of the toxins you have put in it, especially if you drink heavily. Once your body has worked through most of those toxins, you come out of that 'passed out' phase. This is the ideal time to get a big drink of water, go to the toilet etc etc. Your body is tricked into thinking it has slept, which is why it can take some time to get back to sleep.
Hangovers are merely dehydration, so if you drink plenty of water when you come home and when you wake up after drinking (for me it is usually 3am) you shouldn't get any hangovers. It also helps your body process the toxins quicker.
I would not be too concerned, but you are right to cut down your drinking. We fight going to sleep as children, remember how much we love sleep as teenagers, get too busy with life to sleep much in our early 20's, and remember we love it again in our late 20's to 30's lol.
That is my theory on the matter anyway. Like the other poster, I have no science to back my theory up.
- 9 years ago
This is a totally unscientific theory, so please don't base anything on it too much.
But me and my friends were discussing this the other day and we reckon our bodies wake themselves up after drinking because we NEED water/food/toilet/to check we aren't dead yet/etc...
Like I say, just an idea from a bunch of 19 year olds, but makes some sense?!
