Drinking carries many dangers. Alcohol fog covers the whole world. A person ceases to evaluate his actions, does not see that he is a danger to others, does not understand that he is destroying his body. It would seem that the way out of the binge should bring relief, but there it was. An organism poisoned by an excessive amount of alcohol cannot enter into a normal rhythm of life.

Insomnia after drinking is a side effect of withdrawal symptoms

One of the consequences becomes a real torment - a violation of sleep. Insomnia after drinking is exhausting and brings nightmares instead of relief. Why this happens, and how to deal with it, everyone who has encountered drunken alcoholics needs to know.

Sleep after drinking

Insomnia after a long binge has many shades. Trying to sleep, instead of resting, brings fatigue. The person asks the question: “Why can’t I fall asleep?”, And does not receive an answer to it. How to fall asleep after drinking, and why the body behaves so inappropriately? The fact is that alcohol has been affecting the brain for too long, nervous system overexcited and needs help to calm down.

The most difficult thing is to survive 4 days after a heavy drinking. There may be nightmares, tantrums, aggression or apathy. An alcoholic will feel that the whole world is to blame for him. He will always try to rest, and complain: "I want to sleep, but I can not sleep." This behavior is side effect withdrawal syndrome resulting from alcohol withdrawal. At this moment, it is desirable to help the person so that, under the influence of nightmares, he again does not reach for the bottle.

How does insomnia manifest after quitting alcohol?

There are several types of post-binge insomnia:

You can’t dismiss it if a person complains about the inability to fall asleep after drinking. It is necessary to help him restore sleep, if necessary, even consult a doctor for intoxication.

Cause of alcohol nightmares

Alcohol not only disrupts the process of falling asleep, but distorts the transitions from the slow phase to the REM phase of sleep. The fast phase of sleep does not occur, because of this, the dream becomes heavy and intrusive. An alcoholic regularly has nightmares because his nervous system is upset. Either he is tormented by the question for half the night: “Well, why can’t I fall asleep?”, Or he wakes up in a cold sweat from the horror he experienced. good psychologist can lead a person to the idea that he can influence the quality of his sleep by quitting drinking.

Medical solution to the problem

Thinking about the question of how to fall asleep after drinking, you should not self-medicate. Uncontrolled intake of sedatives sleeping pills can be very dangerous. It is best to consult a doctor to relieve post-alcoholic psychosis. The narcologist hears complaints from patients many times a day: “I can’t sleep,” and he knows exactly how to deal with it.

To restore sleep, relieve the patient of nightmares that he regularly dreams, calm his nervous system, and eliminate alcohol poisoning, the doctor may prescribe detoxification. This is a dropper with glucose, sodium chloride, sedatives and other components that purifies the blood. Most often, after such a dropper, an alcoholic is able to fall asleep almost immediately, and he does not have nightmares.

In order to remove post-alcoholic psychosis, you need to see a doctor

AT big cities such assistance can be called at home or received at a specialized clinic. In addition to cleansing the blood, after drinking, it is imperative to restore the balance of fluids in the body and drink a course of vitamins B and C.

The safe fight against insomnia

At home, a person is somewhat limited in the means of combating insomnia. What to do if you can't sleep or have nightmares? First of all, you need to help the body cleanse itself of alcohol toxins. Drink as much liquid as possible. Mineral water, kefir, fermented baked milk, sour juices are well suited. Why is it important? Thus, toxins are excreted through the kidneys with urine, and through the skin with sweat.

Particular attention should be paid to nutrition. Prepare light broths and soups, add some fruits and vegetables to your diet to stimulate bowel movements. You can take several bags of Smecta. Activated charcoal is acceptable.

Medicines for headaches and joint pain choose with great care. Let it be the usual drugs for you. It is better to avoid novelties so as not to provoke allergic reaction. Before going to bed, it is advisable to go outside. A leisurely walk in the park will be very useful.

Folk remedies

Folk recipes can also tell you how to fall asleep after drinking. The experience of traditional medicine in this matter is very useful. Instead of tea, especially in the evening, you can make decoctions of soothing herbs. Melissa, thyme, mint, alone or together, will help calm the nerves and relax.

At home, you can use decoctions of soothing herbs.

At home, you can prepare a pumpkin drink. Finely chopped pumpkin boil a little and rub through a sieve. Add boiled water and honey. This tool helps the body enter the normal rhythm of work, which contributes to the normalization of sleep.

It is always worth remembering that honey has long been considered the best remedy from insomnia. After drinking, add it to water, milk or herbal drinks. It is especially important to drink honey "solution" before going to bed.

Good folk method getting rid of drunken insomnia - decoctions of dried hops. A few teaspoons pour a glass of boiling water and let it brew. This remedy must be taken 3 times a day for at least 1 week.

If a person has a healthy heart and blood vessels, then you can take a steam bath. Otherwise, a relaxing thyme bath will do. A decoction of herbs is added to warm water, the procedure should last no more than 30 minutes. Immediately after that, you need to go to bed and turn off the light. Sleep preferably with an open window.

The main advice for getting rid of insomnia, which will be given by both a qualified doctor and a traditional healer, give up alcohol abuse. Take care of your health, as it will be very difficult to recover.

Article reading time: 2 minutes

Why do you have nightmares after drinking?

Why do I have nightmares after drinking? A minority of the population is sure that alcohol contributes to rapid falling asleep. That's just the frequent use of alcohol can develop some diseases. Scientists, based on many experiments, have determined that after binges, the quality of sleep is disturbed. In this case, there is no normal rest. This effect is observed with everyday drinking of alcohol, which leads to insomnia.

Dream researchers have found that nightmares do not pose a health risk in certain cases. So, with a single manifestation of unpleasant dreams, stress resistance is developed, disappears nervous tension accumulated during the day. Also trains mental condition of a person: bad dreams help to deal with problems and threats in real life. life situation. Such manifestations are typical only for isolated cases, and if they appear repeatedly, it is necessary to think about ways to eliminate such a condition.

Why do hangovers cause nightmares? This is due to some features of dreams, as well as the effect of alcoholic beverages on well-being.

There are certain reasons covering this issue:

1. Violation brain activity. Many people know that the working capacity of the brain does not stop even during sleep. But when drinking even a small amount of alcohol in the cerebral cortex, problems arise. That is why the frequency of nightmares may increase. Also, such dreams appear with certain mental disorders, and the combination of two problems contributes to the development of dangerous complications.
2. Broken nervous system. Not only the sick are susceptible to binge drinking, but also healthy people. In this case, alcohol has a negative effect on the nervous system, which weakens stress resistance. Alcohol intoxication is a reaction of the body to ethanol. But nightmares appear through a mental disorder that develops against the background alcohol addiction.
3. Apnea condition. Alcoholic drinks affect the respiratory organs, after which there is a temporary overlap of the respiratory centers, leading to oxygen deficiency. Further actions occur according to a certain pattern: lack of oxygen causes stress, and it, in turn, contributes to the release of adrenaline - a rapid heartbeat appears. As a result, the human body informs consciousness about the need to exit sleep. This is necessary for normal breathing. Often, in this case, frightening pictures can appear in a dream - this is provoked by fire, water, when a person is on the verge of death. It is the appearance of a nightmare in a dream that can save a person from death due to existing diseases. These include: cardiac and respiratory pathologies.
4. Mental problems. Simultaneously with hard drinking, metabolic disorders begin to develop, as a result, a mental disorder appears that provokes restless sleep. This usually results in insomnia or nightmares. So, frightening dreams are dreamed of by a person who is under the influence of delirium tremens. At the same time, in a dream, pictures of pursuit, chases can be seen - mostly monsters or animals.

Such reasons will help to determine the severity of the disease. Also, through them, you can decide on the treatment.

Fighting methods

Under observation adverse impact Nightmares occur during sleep, or a person may wake up tired and not rested. All this suggests that it is necessary to turn to specialists to solve such a problem. At the same time, it is not difficult to notice that such dreams can be dreamed of when drinking alcohol before bedtime, but this cannot be done.

Despite this, there are still certain rules, following which you can get rid of the problem:

• if drinking at night has become the norm, and nightmares have become more frequent, then it is necessary to gradually reduce the dosage of alcohol, and then completely abandon it. You can replace it with tea, natural juices;
• It is best to drink fresh (warmed) milk with honey before going to bed. It favorably affects the nervous system, due to which sleep becomes calm;
• the result of a hangover syndrome will be the use more alcohol. Drinking alcohol at night can negatively affect sleep. To improve it, you need to walk for about an hour on fresh air;
• you need to go to bed before 10 pm - this is the most favorable time;
• do not eat fatty, fried or spicy foods. The best option in this case would be food that is digested the fastest;
• you need to sleep in a ventilated room;
• it is worth refusing to watch films with violence, programs or news on criminal and otherworldly topics;
• not recommended to use medicines to help you fall asleep quickly. In this case, use soothing infusions with mint or chamomile.

In spite of high efficiency these ways, improvements may not come immediately. And with excessive drinking of alcohol, they will have to be expected at all for several weeks, in rare cases - 3 or 4 months. With a single use of alcohol, the result will appear much faster.

In addition, the nervous system suffers from drinking, and it also takes some time to recover. With complete normalization of well-being, bad dreams will no longer bother a person. If the nightmares still do not disappear, then you need to consult a doctor. Somnologists or psychotherapists will help to cope with such a problem.

hangover nightmares

Some people believe that drinking alcohol at night will contribute to sound sleep. But this is debatable. If you drink even a little alcohol at night, on the contrary, you can not fall asleep, or, even worse, provoke the appearance of nightmares.

In addition to the negative impact on the quality of a night's rest, due to the use of alcoholic beverages every evening, alcohol addiction may form in the future. This conclusion was made by scientists after conducting many experiments.

Alcohol has a detrimental effect on sleep cycles.

• During sleep, a person goes through a chain of slow and fast cycles. Alcohol negatively affects this process, making the transition of the slow phase more difficult.
• Dreams while intoxicated are not colorful and gloomy. Rest at night becomes restless, weak and often interrupted.
• During the night, the REM sleep phase increases, while the slow sleep phase decreases. If for a sober person this is normal, then for a drunk person, the opposite is true. During a hangover, the fast phase becomes very short. This leads to nightmares, as the body and brain do not rest for the right time.

Why do hangovers cause nightmares?

According to some somnologists, nightmares are not a deviation and are not at all dangerous. But only if it doesn't happen regularly. On the one hand, it helps to get rid of the accumulated nervous tension, on the other hand, it trains the psyche. When a nightmare is dreamed, panic and fear seizes a person who real life helps to better deal with stress. But this applies only to individual isolated cases. There is no benefit if you have nightmares regularly.

Hangover nightmares can be explained by the peculiarities of psychophysiology, as well as the effect of alcohol on the body.

There are such psychophysiological reasons:

• disease of the nervous system.
  Alcohol destroys the nervous system not only in chronic alcoholics, but also in light drinkers, for example, those who drink once a week. Alcohol intoxication and the subsequent hangover is the body's reaction to alcohol poisoning. Nightmares are a reaction of the psyche to the inflicted stress;
• apnea state.
  The respiratory center is located in the medulla oblongata. The use of alcoholic beverages inhibits his work. This leads to its blockade, resulting in a temporary stoppage of breathing (apnea). The further process occurs along the chain. As a result of sleep apnea, oxygen starvation occurs, which leads to stress. Stress causes an adrenaline rush and an increase in heart rate. As a result, in order to start breathing, the body gives a signal that the person wakes up.
• In most cases, this happens due to nightmares. Dreams may look like this. For example, one may dream that a person is drowning and therefore cannot breathe, there is not enough air during a fire, he is running away from someone, etc. Since such a night may be the last for people with diseases of the respiratory tract and heart, nightmares in this case- the best outcome of events;
• the destructive effect of alcohol on the brain;
  The human brain does not stop its work even in a dream. While drinking alcohol, his work is disrupted, which causes the appearance of terrible pictures.
• psychical deviations;
  There comes a moment when drinking people mental disorders occur and metabolism is disturbed, which causes sleep disturbance. As a rule, these are nightmares and insomnia. In a state of delirium tremens, a person can see terrible nightmares, stories, as if he is being chased, scary animals, fantastic monsters.

How to get rid of hangover nightmares?

If alcohol has Negative influence on the quality of rest, nightmares appeared, or on the contrary, insomnia, a broken state in the morning, you should think about solving such a problem.

Naturally, the most right decision will completely give up alcohol, especially at night. Because alcohol causes irreparable harm to health.

• You should know the measure, but it is better to give up alcohol altogether;
• If alcohol is used as a sleeping pill, you should gradually wean from it. To stop drinking in order to fall asleep, you need to gradually, at first simply reducing the dose, and later switch to without alcoholic drinks;
• Drink a glass of milk before bed. This will favorably affect the body and relax the nervous system;
• When drunk, the best way out will, walk down the street. In the fresh air, the hops will disappear, and sleep will come faster;
• You can't go to bed very late. There will be no nightmares if you go to bed no later than 22.00;
• It is not worth eating a heavy dinner at night, it is better to eat light food;
• Be sure to air the bedroom before going to bed, especially if you have a hangover tomorrow;
• It is better not to watch TV at night, horror films, news, action films. This will not bring any benefit, and the chance of seeing a nightmare will increase.
• The best sleeping pill is an infusion of common herbs, such as mint or chamomile. You can drink it a couple of hours before bedtime.

It should be understood that improvements will not come immediately. If you do not drink alcohol regularly, the result will be visible much faster. But if there is an addiction to alcohol and its use at night is systematic, then the effect of such activities can be noticeable only after 3 weeks.

If there is no positive dynamics even after a month, you should consult a doctor, such as a somnologist or a psychotherapist. With the help of doctors, it will be much easier to achieve success.

Having nightmares after drinking

Hello everyone. After alcohol, I have nightmares, and they are so real that sometimes I even start talking out loud. Or a dream in a dream. This used to happen only after a few days of drinking, right now one day is enough to wake up later in a sweat and not understand where the dream or reality is . I understand that everyone is now throwing slippers, they say drunk and stop drinking, but I ask people who know to answer what is it? A broken psyche from alcohol?

This is white fever

And when I drink, I find myself in a fairy-tale land.
There I meet Krosh from Smeshariki, and the Hedgehog is my lover

Do not drink. I can't drink either. I'm worse. My mind goes blank after drinking. And I, like a lunatic, begin to walk. There is an idea that you need to kill someone before they kill me. After a bottle, I walked with a pitchfork at night to kill some reptile, heard voices and tried to kill the spirits. Then a couple of days later I found out that someone had disappeared that day and it became scary. I was afraid that I had stabbed him, but then I learned on the news that he was found without signs violent death Well, I calmed down. Another time, beer got me up at night with the thought that they wanted to kill me, I quietly crept into the garage and found a pin, bags and a saw there. Already when I returned to the bedroom with the pin to my beloved, I let go, it became scary what I was doing, another minute - and I would have stuck this pin in his temple. I don't drink anymore, I'm afraid.

Alcohol affects the psyche, and with a hangover, sleep phases are disturbed, all together leading to nightmares

I started drinking after the death of my husband, his painful death happened before my eyes and my psyche shook. I didn’t drink heavily, I used to get drunk in the evenings.
I also had nightmares of a mystical nature. And the ability to lucid dreams was also opened (when you wake up in a dream, you become aware, and the dream becomes like reality). There were several astral exits, flew out of the body, saw myself from the side. talked, there they have almost the same life as ours, but the worldview is more expanded, they understand everything there that is unknown to us, they are not so emotional, calm. I drink and dreams ordinary dreams. Alcohol apparently shifts the assemblage point a little, and the ability to be lucid in a dream opens up.

Mine has it. But. What I noticed: when he gets drunk, he sleeps soundly on his back and does not feel when to roll over. That is, it turns off so tightly that either the chzyk sinks, or something else, but stops breathing for a few seconds. Snoring, snoring, and then silence. And suddenly - hrrrr, agggg, agggg. And while he is not breathing, he apparently has nightmares. It is called sleep apnea. It was the case that I did not sleep nearby all night, so he had such a respiratory arrest several times and closer to morning.

I have such a state. I associate it with changes in blood pressure, when taking alcohol, the blood vessels dilate, the pressure drops, then, on the contrary, it rises. I connect, because with pressure drops without alcohol the same thing. At high pressure nightmares and wake up. Kind of like a signal to the body. I drink very rarely and little. My friend was a drunk, a squirrel does not come in a dream. By the way, he claimed that he never sees dreams. And the squirrel visited regularly, then at the end already, the alcoholic delirium turned into alcoholic hallucinosis, this is when the squirrel comes for a longer time, first for a couple of days, then for a week, for several weeks, and then does not leave at all.

This is called Belochka came to you.
I know what delirium tremens is and it's not her

Having nightmares after drinking
I can't sleep again
I drank three glasses of vodka
And the feeling is like a bucket.
What should I do no one will tell me
Only an alcoholic will be called in response
People please be kind
I can't sleep again.

This is the norm. The body is poisoned, what do you want from it

This is called Belochka came to you. I know what delirium tremens is and it's not her

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How to sleep with a hangover and why do you have nightmares?

Long-term use of alcoholic beverages not only has a destructive effect on all internal organs of a person, but also causes problems with sleep. Hangover insomnia is a fairly common phenomenon that can disrupt the physical, emotional and psychological rhythm person. Prolonged lack of sleep provokes fatigue, irritation, and also causes hallucinations and delirium tremens. In this article, we will tell you how to fall asleep with a hangover and analyze why sleep is lost from alcohol.

The main causes of insomnia

Insomnia with a hangover or hypersympathicotonia, is formed due to a strong overexcitation in tone, due to which the nervous system is disturbed

Insomnia with a hangover or hypersympathicotonia, is formed due to a strong overexcitation in tone, due to which the nervous system is disturbed. It is the failure of the nervous system that disrupts the state of sleep and rest. The main reasons that provoke sleep disturbance after drinking include:

• tingling in the side;
• arrhythmia;
• burning in side;
• jumps in blood pressure;
• tremor of the limbs;
• constant feeling of anxiety and fear.

For information! Narcologists have proven that the lack of normal and full sleep during withdrawal syndrome increases the risk of developing mental disorders in the drinker.

After drinking, a depressive state sets in with a constant feeling of anxiety and fear. Dark thoughts arise, incomprehensible fears appear, hallucinations that lead a person into a panic state. According to experts, the main cause of nervous tension with a hangover is the presence of high blood pressure during the period of sobering up. You can reduce the feeling of fear by taking pills that lower blood pressure. But smoking should be excluded, because. cigarette smoke and nicotine worsen the mental state of the patient. After smoking, the level of fears and anxiety increases significantly. This restless state is formed due to an increase in blood pressure, depression becomes stronger, and falling asleep quickly becomes even more problematic.

For information! During the period of withdrawal from a drunken state, exclude the intake of strong tea and coffee, these drinks are not able to have a setadative effect on the body.

Until the drinker has a complete state of calm and internal balance, you can forget about a calm and long sleep. That's why hangovers give me nightmares. If, however, a person stopped drinking, the restoration of the nervous system, including the sleep regimen, takes about two months, provided that alcohol is completely abandoned.

Consequences of long-term alcohol use

In people who drink alcohol excessively, the respiratory system is disturbed

In people who drink alcohol excessively, the respiratory system is disturbed. During sleep, a person may temporarily stop breathing, a condition called sleep apnea. Apnea appears as:

• strong snoring;
• sniffles;
• intermittent silence.

The silence of the sleeper occurs due to a complete or partial cessation of breathing, as a result of which snoring cannot occur, because. the airways are completely blocked. Due to adhesion of the walls of the pharynx and larynx, blockage of the airways occurs.

For information! Respiratory arrest causes oxygen deficiency and increased concentration carbon dioxide in the blood, which is why the next breath causes snoring.

With the constant repetition of cycles of respiratory arrest, the state of health can significantly deteriorate and death can occur. The most dangerous sleep apnea is for heart patients and people suffering from various chronic pathologies. Alcohol has a sedative effect, as a result of which the muscles relax, the airways narrow and the awakening mechanism is disturbed.

Medications for insomnia

Some drinkers use various sleeping pills or sedative drugs to relieve insomnia after alcohol.

Some drinkers use various sleeping pills or sedative drugs to eliminate insomnia after alcohol. It is worth noting that sleep with a hangover cannot come long time, a person does not sleep, as a result of which his unequal system suffers and collapses even more. There is a list of drugs that help in a state of hangover syndrome, which can be purchased at a pharmacy without a prescription:

For information! Sometimes alcohol helps to fall asleep quickly, for this it is advised to take 50 grams. However, this method can lead a person into a binge or into a deep and long sleep.

Experts do not recommend self-selection of sleeping pills, because. each drug has its own characteristics, disadvantages and compatibility. An important point is the calculation of the dosage and the time of taking the medicine. With the wrong scheme of taking medications, there is a risk of developing a depressed state, an addictive effect, and many other more serious consequences.

Combination of alcohol and sleeping pills

Before taking sleeping pills in alcoholic intoxication or after a long binge, you must carefully study the annotation of the drug

Before taking sleeping pills while intoxicated or after a long binge, you must carefully study the annotation of the drug. As a rule, either medicinal product affects the effect of alcohol, or alcohol interferes with the effect of the drug. Most often, in a state of intoxication, a person does not respond to medications and even to anesthesia.

For information! Any sedative drug in combination with alcohol significantly reduces its effect and effectiveness.

In medical practice, quite often taking alcohol with sleeping pills leads to lethal outcome. Death occurs due to the entry into the pathological reaction of ethanol and the drug, their tandem inhibits the neural and limbic system, destroys brain cells, stops breathing and has a narcotic effect similar to barbiturate. An important point is that ethanol products affect liver enzymes, as a result of which the absorption of active medicinal substances is blocked and intoxication of the body occurs.

For information! From the response of the Internet community “What should I do, I can’t sleep with a hangover? Even if I sleep, the dream is not long and something terrible is dreaming all the time. I feel a constant feeling of anxiety and irritation.”

Prolonged insomnia can cause severe mental disorders and therefore should be treated.

How to get rid of insomnia with a hangover

To quickly and effectively eliminate insomnia in the drinker, detoxification of the body should be carried out.

To quickly and effectively eliminate insomnia in a drinker, it is necessary to understand the causes of its occurrence. Insomnia is caused by:

• lack of amino acids, vitamins and minerals;
• malfunctions and malfunctions internal organs and all systems
• the presence of intoxication and the presence in the body of aceltadehyde, a product of the breakdown of ethanol.

The treatment method consists of several stages, namely:

• Detoxification - a procedure for cleansing the body using a dropper with various solutions, this method allows you to quickly remove toxins and improve metabolism;
• Membrane stabilizing compound - a biological filter that needs homeostasis, which is responsible for cell membranes, to stabilize the membrane's passive transport function. For this, various medications are used, as a result of which the level of ingestion of various toxins from the blood is significantly reduced;

For information! When the drinker enters the narcological department, he is given sedatives that enable the person to sleep. As a rule, the first 2 days in the hospital the alcoholic is constantly sleeping.

• Restoration of acid-base balance - to restore it use mineral water and chemical method, i.e. taking medications;
• Recovery water balance- it is recommended to take fresh juices, eat more vegetables and fruits.

When you stop drinking, the body experiences stress, panic sets in, aches and anxiety, you won’t fall asleep in this state, however, if you follow the recommendations of narcologists and perform detoxification, you can overcome insomnia caused by a hangover.

Remember, to maintain a normal sleep pattern, you should observe the measure of alcohol consumption, and it is best to completely abandon it. Do not neglect your health, insomnia is not just a lack or disturbance of sleep, but a pathology that can cause serious mental disorders.

IMPORTANT. The information presented in the material is for informational purposes only. And it is not a guide to action. A mandatory consultation with your doctor is required.

Many people believe that if you drink an alcoholic drink at night, it will promote sound sleep. However, this is not the case.

There are quite a few alcohol-related factors that affect sleep quality.

So, an alcoholic drink drunk at night can, on the contrary, provoke insomnia, or even nightmares. Read on to find out why hangovers cause nightmares and disrupt sleep quality.

Psychophysiology of sleep and dreams

In order to understand how alcohol affects the quality of sleep and the nature of dreams, it is necessary to understand what the process of sleep is from a psychophysiological point of view.

So sleep is physiological process thanks to which the human body can relax and recover. In the process of sleep, various images appear in the mind of a sleeping person, which are called dreams. Usually a person who is dreaming is not aware that he is dreaming and perceives dreams as real. However, there are people who see lucid dreams, that is, they understand that they are dreaming, and what is happening has nothing to do with reality. People who have lucid dreams can control them.

Somnologists (dream specialists) identify several essential functions sleep:

• rest and recovery of the body from the loads that a person received during the day;
• restoration of immunity, active fight against diseases;
• adaptation of the body to daylight;
• fixing the information received during the day in the mind.

That is why it is so important that a person gets a good sleep, otherwise there can be no talk of any restoration of the body.

Stages and cycles of sleep

Sleep is a cyclical process. This means that it consists of phases that alternate with each other, replacing each other several times during the night, forming cycles. There are two phases of sleep:

• slow sleep;
• fast sleep.

Healthy sleep suggests that the first cycle, consisting of these two phases, lasts from 90 to 100 minutes. Then there is a constant repetition of phases, while the duration of non-REM sleep decreases, and REM sleep increases.

• Stage 1: non-REM sleep (stage 1) In this stage, the person is dozing, may dream or even hallucinate. Pulse, respiration, metabolism slow down, body temperature drops, and slow eye movement can be observed. The duration of the stage is from 5 to 10 minutes;
• Stage 2: non-REM sleep (stage 2) This stage is also called light sleep. It continues to decrease the same rhythms as in the 1st stage;
• 3rd stage: directly slow sleep;
• 4th stage: slow deep sleep. Exactly on this stage a person sees 80% of all dreams. If there is a predisposition, talking in a dream, nightmares, sleepwalking are also manifested here. At the same time, a person remembers practically nothing from what happened at this stage of sleep;
• 5th stage: the beginning of the 2nd stage of slow sleep;
• Stage 6: REM sleep. This stage lasts from 5 to 10 minutes. At this stage, there is increased activity of the brain, a person sees a large number of different dreams. The stage is closest in nature of sensations to wakefulness.

A person goes through 5 such sleep cycles per night.

Some people mistakenly believe that alcohol is an excellent sleep aid. However, in addition to the fact that the nightly drinking of alcoholic beverages threatens to turn into the formation of alcohol dependence in the future, that is, alcoholism, alcohol also negatively affects the quality of sleep. This conclusion was reached by scientists in the course of many experiments. From the point of view of psychophysiology and somnology, everything is very simple - alcohol negatively affects sleep cycles, namely the process of changing sleep phases, which you learned about above. As a result, the transition from non-REM to REM sleep becomes more difficult. In addition, alcohol increases the duration of non-REM and deep sleep, and makes REM sleep shorter, resulting in heavy sleep. As a result, the body does not receive full unloading and rest. If a person abuses alcohol systematically, then in the end it can lead to insomnia.

If you give a popular explanation of what the negative effect of alcoholic beverages on sleep is, then alcohol:

• interferes with fast and sound sleep;
• sleep becomes superficial, restless, short, weak;
• having heavy, nightmare dreams;
• sleep is interrupted, and a person may wake up several times during the night.

As you remember, sleep is necessary for a person to restore strength, relax the nervous system. If a person slept badly, didn’t get enough sleep, woke up “broken”, this indicates that the body did not recover overnight.

We are talking about alcohol, drunk directly in the evening. If you drink a glass of wine during the day, then before nightfall it will be excreted from the body and will in no way affect the quality of your sleep. In addition, the more you drink before bed, the stronger the negative effects of alcohol will be.

Why do you have nightmares: various aspects

Some somnologists argue that nightmares are not so bad. If nightmares are not of a regular nature, they are beneficial to a person, helping, on the one hand, to relieve nervous tension that has accumulated over time, on the other hand, there is some kind of training of the human psyche: horror and panic that seize a person when he sees a terrible dream, help him better adapt and withstand stress in real life. However, all this applies only to isolated cases of nightmares. If they are regular, there is no health benefit.

Why hangover nightmares are also explained by the peculiarities of the psychophysiology of sleep and the effect that alcohol has on the human body. The following psychophysiological reasons are distinguished:

• the detrimental effect of alcohol on brain function;

It is known that even in a dream the human brain continues to work. If a person consumes alcohol, the work of the brain is disrupted, as a result of which a person begins to see frightening pictures in a dream. This can be aggravated, for example, by psychological reasons, which you will learn about below;

• disorder of the nervous system;

Even if you are not a chronic alcoholic and drink alcohol, for example, every Friday, alcohol still has a destructive effect on the nervous system, for which it is stressful. The state of alcoholic intoxication and further hangover is nothing more than a reaction of the whole organism to ethanol poisoning (and after all, a person who drinks an alcoholic drink does this by poisoning his body). Nightmares, as you already know, are nothing more than a response of the psyche to stress;

• apnea;

Alcohol suppresses the respiratory center, which is located in the medulla oblongata. As a result, a temporary blockade of this center occurs, which leads to apnea, that is, a temporary cessation of breathing. Then everything happens in a chain: apnea leads to oxygen deficiency; this, in turn, causes stress, and stress provokes the release of adrenaline; The hormone causes the heart rate to increase. As a result, the body signals that a person must wake up in order to start breathing. Usually this happens due to a nightmare: a person is seized by panic, horror. At the same time, he can see the corresponding dreams: for example, a person may dream that he is drowning and therefore cannot breathe, suffocates in a fire, someone is chasing him, etc. And terrible dreams in this case are the best outcome events, since for a person with problems of the respiratory tract or the cardiovascular system, such a night may well be the last;

• mental disorders;

In alcoholics, sooner or later, metabolic disorders and mental disorders occur, which lead to sleep disorders. As a rule, it is insomnia and nightmares. For example, a person may have terrifying dreams in a state of hypnagogic delirium tremens.

In this case, he sees plots that he is being pursued, chased, mostly by wild animals, monsters, etc.

The psychological aspect of nightmares with a hangover

Nightmares themselves are a reaction of the psyche to stress and a way to relieve tension arising from them. Through terrible, terrible images, the psyche is “unloaded”. I mean, it's not that bad. However, only if terrible dreams come from time to time. If they are permanent, this may indicate certain problems. In particular, this indicates either health problems (and thus the body signals them), or psychological problems. To psychological reasons include anxiety, stress, nervous tension, problems at work, in the family and in other important areas of human life, etc.

Many people drink alcohol to relieve stress, get away from a problem, etc. However, the effect is the opposite, because alcohol not only does not solve problems, but exacerbates them; alcohol in small quantities can really relax the nervous system, but only for a while, and then the tension builds up again, and with even greater force. In addition, if a person drank more than the norm, then instead of relaxing, the nervous system, on the contrary, is immediately excited.

In a dream with a hangover, this manifests itself precisely through terrible dreams. In addition, through dreams, the brain tries to find a way out, a solution to the problem that gnaws at a person. But if a person drinks alcohol, then he goes to bed when his brain is already beginning to be poisoned by toxins, since alcohol that has entered the body automatically starts the process of intoxication. And, except for a viscous nightmarish plot from which a person cannot get out, nothing can be dreamed of in such a state.

How to deal with nightmares

If you notice that alcohol negatively affects the quality of your sleep, you see nightmares or, conversely, you cannot fall asleep, and in the morning you feel tired and “broken”, it's time to think about how to solve this problem. Of course, the most correct thing is to completely abandon the use of alcohol at night, because, as you probably managed to see, alcohol is the enemy of healthy sleep. Some general recommendations below can help you solve the problem of bad dreams with a hangover:

• if the use of alcoholic beverages as a sleeping pill has already become a habit for you, and you cannot quit it abruptly, start to give it up gradually: reduce the dose of alcohol, then switch to lighter drinks, and then completely replace them with juice;
• drink warm milk with honey at night, which has a very beneficial and relaxing effect on the nervous system;
• if you drank alcohol at night, be sure to take a walk for 30 minutes in the fresh air before going to bed, which will contribute to a healthier and more sound sleep;
• go to bed no later than 22.00;
• do not dine tightly, give preference to food that is easily and quickly digested;
• always sleep in a well-ventilated area;
• do not watch horror films, action films and news, programs on criminal, otherworldly, etc. topics at night;
• do not resort to sleeping pills on your own and sedatives, but an infusion of mint or chamomile, drunk at night, can be very helpful.

In addition, you must understand that improvements will not come immediately. If you drink alcohol irregularly, then the result will not be long in coming. But if you regularly consumed alcohol at night, then the effect of the activities can be observed after 2 to 3 weeks. And even this will not be a guarantee that terrible dreams will leave you forever. For example, alcoholics may experience nightmares even 2-3 months after completely refusing to drink alcohol. If this happens, hold back and do not drink alcoholic beverages, over time, when the nervous system and body are fully restored, nightmares will stop tormenting you.

If, after 3-4 months, there is still no improvement in sleep, contact a specialist. Sleep disorders are usually dealt with by psychotherapists and somnologists, whose help will surely help you achieve the desired result.

Thanks for the feedback

Comments

Megan92 () 2 weeks ago

Has anyone managed to save her husband from alcoholism? Mine drinks without drying up, I don’t know what to do ((I thought of getting a divorce, but I don’t want to leave the child without a father, and I feel sorry for my husband, that’s how he great person when not drinking

Daria () 2 weeks ago

I have already tried so many things and only after reading this article, I managed to wean my husband from alcohol, now he doesn’t drink at all, even on holidays.

Megan92 () 13 days ago

Daria () 12 days ago

Megan92, so I wrote in my first comment) I will duplicate it just in case - link to article.

10 days ago

Isn't this a divorce? Why sell online?

Yulek26 (Tver) 10 days ago

Sonya, what country do you live in? They sell on the Internet, because shops and pharmacies set their markup brutal. In addition, payment is only after receipt, that is, they first looked, checked and only then paid. And now everything is sold on the Internet - from clothes to TVs and furniture.

Editorial response 10 days ago

Sonya, hello. This drug for the treatment of alcohol addiction is really not sold through the pharmacy network and Retail Stores to avoid overpricing. Currently, you can only order official website. Be healthy!

10 days ago

Sorry, I didn't notice at first the information about the cash on delivery. Then everything is in order for sure, if the payment is upon receipt.