Health & Wellness News From Byron J. Richards
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Alcohol May Disturb Your Sleep and Biological Clock

Wednesday, September 02, 2009 - Byron Richards, CCN
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Many people have a drink or two to relax and calm down from the stressors of the day, which even may assist sleep (at least in the short term).  A new study shows that an increased level of alcohol can disrupt your biological clock.  Not only does this induce potential serious sleep problems, it can throw your entire body out of rhythm (including your immune system).

In this highly controlled animal study, disturbance of the biological clock increased as the amount of alcohol increased.  Furthermore, disturbances in the clock continued even after the alcohol was withdrawn.

This study has immediate take-home application for humans.  If you have gotten into a pattern of progressively increasing your alcohol intake, and you have noticed sleep problems or energy-related problems starting up or increasing, then it is a sure sign that you need to drink less and that you may even need to go for a month or two without any alcohol so as to allow your clock to reset itself and get used to a more normal pattern (it generally takes nerves at least three weeks to rebalance).

Besides your sleep, your clock runs your immune system’s timing, which is vital to efficient function.  It is not a good idea to head into a pending flu season with a stressed clock, which is only likely to become more stressed as the length of daylight shortens and temperatures drop.

Related Entries: A Path Back From Addiction & Mental Health Problems
Alcohol-Related Acetaldehyde Increases Cancer Risk
Zinc, Alcohol Damage, and Thyroid Function
The Blood Sugar Hormone Adiponectin is Linked to Your Circadian Clock

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