PROVIDENCE, R.I., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A moderate amount of alcohol, taken by young women before bed, can result in increased sleep intensity, according to researchers in Rhode Island.
Two to three standard drinks -- in the form of vodka tonics -- in the hour before bedtime were associated with increased sleep intensity in the first couple of hours of the sleep episode, according to Mary A. Carskadon, of the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory and Brown University Medical School in Providence, R.I.
"Whether this sleep pattern is beneficial or harmful is unknown at this point," said study author Eliza Van Reen, a psychology graduate student at Brown University.
"Although it may signal an initial consolidation of sleep, it might also be associated with difficulty waking in the event of an emergent problem, such as a fire or medical emergency."
More work is needed to examine other alcohol doses, sex differences and vulnerability that may occur with a positive family history of alcoholism, the authors conclude in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
