Binge Drinking may Cause Sleep Disturbances

Binge drinking causes sleep disturbances by affecting the gene that regulates sleep, research at the University of Missouri ¡V Columbia finds. After four hours of drinking it also causes significant increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep four hours after binge drinking followed by increased wakefulness and reduced sleep during subsequent sleep periods.

"Sleep is a serious problem for alcoholics," said Mahesh Thakkar, PhD, professor and director of research in the MU School of Medicine's Department of Neurology and lead author of the study. "If you binge drink, the second day you will feel sleep deprived and will need to drink even more alcohol to go to sleep. It is a dangerous cycle. How can we stop this cycle or prevent it before it begins? To answer that question, we need to understand the mechanisms involved."

Using a mouse model, Thakkar monitored the effect of binge drinking on sleep patterns. Thakkar found mice exposed to binge drinking experienced a significant increase in non-rapid eye movement sleep four hours post-binge, followed by increased wakefulness and reduced sleep during subsequent sleep periods. Thakkar also discovered post-binge mice did not experience an increase in a sleep promoting chemical, adenosine, in the brain nor increased sleep pressure during sleep deprivation. The research also revealed binge alcohol consumption affects the gene that regulates sleep, resulting in sleep disturbances.

"What we have shown in this research is that a particular gene, which is very important for sleep homeostasis, is altered by just one session of binge drinking," Thakkar said. "We were not expecting this. We thought it would be affected after multiple sessions of binge drinking, not one. That tells you that as soon as you consume four drinks, it can alter your genes."

References:

1. New Study Shows how a Single Binge Drinking Episode Affects Gene that Regulates Sleep - ( https://medicine.missouri.edu/news/new-study-shows-how-single-binge-drinking-episode-affects-gene-regulates-sleep)


Source-Eurekalert
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