Dr. Matthew Walker

And if I were to show you the electrical signature of your sleep with alcohol versus without, you would see how different it is. It's not the same. That that alcohol will actually, it pushes you into what looks like deep, slow wave sleep. but it's kind of the faster slow brainwave activity. So it's sort of the more less nutritious of those deep slow brainwaves, but it's simply sedation.

And if I were to show you the electrical signature of your sleep with alcohol versus without, you would see how different it is. It's not the same. That that alcohol will actually, it pushes you into what looks like deep, slow wave sleep. but it's kind of the faster slow brainwave activity. So it's sort of the more less nutritious of those deep slow brainwaves, but it's simply sedation.

The second problem with alcohol is that like caffeine, but through a different mechanism by way of acting on the sympathetic fight or flight branch of the nervous system, it will make you wake up more times throughout the night. And once again, they're so brief that you don't usually commit it to memory.

The second problem with alcohol is that like caffeine, but through a different mechanism by way of acting on the sympathetic fight or flight branch of the nervous system, it will make you wake up more times throughout the night. And once again, they're so brief that you don't usually commit it to memory.

The second problem with alcohol is that like caffeine, but through a different mechanism by way of acting on the sympathetic fight or flight branch of the nervous system, it will make you wake up more times throughout the night. And once again, they're so brief that you don't usually commit it to memory.

The other thing is that because of that sleep fragmentation, that principally is happening in the first half of the night. This is why on your sleep tracker, when, you know, if I look at my O-ring data, I mean, I don't typically drink, but even if I have, you know, glasses, I get hit not just with this. Another thing I'm going to tell you about REM sleep, I lose a good amount of my deep sleep.

The other thing is that because of that sleep fragmentation, that principally is happening in the first half of the night. This is why on your sleep tracker, when, you know, if I look at my O-ring data, I mean, I don't typically drink, but even if I have, you know, glasses, I get hit not just with this. Another thing I'm going to tell you about REM sleep, I lose a good amount of my deep sleep.

The other thing is that because of that sleep fragmentation, that principally is happening in the first half of the night. This is why on your sleep tracker, when, you know, if I look at my O-ring data, I mean, I don't typically drink, but even if I have, you know, glasses, I get hit not just with this. Another thing I'm going to tell you about REM sleep, I lose a good amount of my deep sleep.

And it turns out that it's really the fragmentation of your sleep early on in the night when the alcohol concentration is highest, when your liver and your kidneys have not had the chance to metabolically clear it. And when you get fragmentation in the first half of the night, you're not getting your deep sleep. And as a result, there's a great study that demonstrated that

And it turns out that it's really the fragmentation of your sleep early on in the night when the alcohol concentration is highest, when your liver and your kidneys have not had the chance to metabolically clear it. And when you get fragmentation in the first half of the night, you're not getting your deep sleep. And as a result, there's a great study that demonstrated that

And it turns out that it's really the fragmentation of your sleep early on in the night when the alcohol concentration is highest, when your liver and your kidneys have not had the chance to metabolically clear it. And when you get fragmentation in the first half of the night, you're not getting your deep sleep. And as a result, there's a great study that demonstrated that

Alcohol after dinner, one glass, decreased the amount of deep sleep, and as a result, produced a 50% drop in growth hormone release. 50%, I mean, I don't know what you'd have to age an individual by to get them to have a 50% drop in growth hormone. So there are, it's consequential. It's not epiphenomenal. Just because you don't get deep sleep, you may say, well, so yes and so what?

Alcohol after dinner, one glass, decreased the amount of deep sleep, and as a result, produced a 50% drop in growth hormone release. 50%, I mean, I don't know what you'd have to age an individual by to get them to have a 50% drop in growth hormone. So there are, it's consequential. It's not epiphenomenal. Just because you don't get deep sleep, you may say, well, so yes and so what?

Alcohol after dinner, one glass, decreased the amount of deep sleep, and as a result, produced a 50% drop in growth hormone release. 50%, I mean, I don't know what you'd have to age an individual by to get them to have a 50% drop in growth hormone. So there are, it's consequential. It's not epiphenomenal. Just because you don't get deep sleep, you may say, well, so yes and so what?

What's the consequence of that lack? Well, one is that you don't get your growth hormone release for reparation and repair. But then the other thing about alcohol, people love me, don't they? Someone once told me when we listen to you, your personality is like the greatest prophylactic known to man ever. Oh, you're the fun police. Thanks for, yeah, exactly. Yeah.

What's the consequence of that lack? Well, one is that you don't get your growth hormone release for reparation and repair. But then the other thing about alcohol, people love me, don't they? Someone once told me when we listen to you, your personality is like the greatest prophylactic known to man ever. Oh, you're the fun police. Thanks for, yeah, exactly. Yeah.

What's the consequence of that lack? Well, one is that you don't get your growth hormone release for reparation and repair. But then the other thing about alcohol, people love me, don't they? Someone once told me when we listen to you, your personality is like the greatest prophylactic known to man ever. Oh, you're the fun police. Thanks for, yeah, exactly. Yeah.

God, if, and that goes together already with my bloody acerbic personality. Anyway, nevertheless, alcohol also is very good at blocking your REM sleep. And it turns out it's not the alcohol, it's the metabolic byproducts of it, particularly the aldehydes. And it's the aldehydes that will essentially act like a sort of jamming up of the cogs of the gears of the generation of REM sleep.

God, if, and that goes together already with my bloody acerbic personality. Anyway, nevertheless, alcohol also is very good at blocking your REM sleep. And it turns out it's not the alcohol, it's the metabolic byproducts of it, particularly the aldehydes. And it's the aldehydes that will essentially act like a sort of jamming up of the cogs of the gears of the generation of REM sleep.

God, if, and that goes together already with my bloody acerbic personality. Anyway, nevertheless, alcohol also is very good at blocking your REM sleep. And it turns out it's not the alcohol, it's the metabolic byproducts of it, particularly the aldehydes. And it's the aldehydes that will essentially act like a sort of jamming up of the cogs of the gears of the generation of REM sleep.