Taking a shot o' rum before bed.. doesn't actually help...
Had our last Bio PSych class last night... and he told us there is no final. We did a sleep study lab the last class, and I found out something I didn't know (ok, a lot of somethings, but this one in particular would be of interest to some of us) did you know that alcohol doesn't actually help you sleep?
While it can get you in a relaxed delirious state, which precludes sleep, it heavily disrupts and even stops REM sleep, which is what we actually need to have. So the Professor explained that, while it is one thing to drink something to calm down, it is important not to "fall asleep drunk", as you will continue to have sleeping problems, and can even develop sleep disorders if you regularly use alcohol as a sleep aide.
We also learned that again, while there are a lot of herbal remedies and over the counter remedies for insomnia or sleep disorders, the ONLY WAY to cure insomnia is to reset the biological clock in a non-destructive pattern, otherwise all the other stuff does is relax you... oh and apparently Bi-Polar people are just screwed, as are people with children, as both cause insomnia that we can't control. wheee.
While it can get you in a relaxed delirious state, which precludes sleep, it heavily disrupts and even stops REM sleep, which is what we actually need to have. So the Professor explained that, while it is one thing to drink something to calm down, it is important not to "fall asleep drunk", as you will continue to have sleeping problems, and can even develop sleep disorders if you regularly use alcohol as a sleep aide.
We also learned that again, while there are a lot of herbal remedies and over the counter remedies for insomnia or sleep disorders, the ONLY WAY to cure insomnia is to reset the biological clock in a non-destructive pattern, otherwise all the other stuff does is relax you... oh and apparently Bi-Polar people are just screwed, as are people with children, as both cause insomnia that we can't control. wheee.