SPEAKER_00 1:13

Hello and welcome to day 15 of our mindful drinking audio advent here on the Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife podcast with me, Denise Hamilton Mace. Today we are talking about sleep. I believe it is the foundation for everything that we want to achieve in life. If you get a good night's sleep, it makes everything so much easier. But we neglect it so much, and I think we don't understand it, and we rely on things like a nightcap and uh having a late night scroll to help us drop off. But all these things really impact our sleep. And during the Christmas season, when there is so much going on, actually good rest and restoration and recovery and giving your brain and your body both time to repair themselves is essential. The thing about alcohol and sleep is that for so long we believe that having a nightcap, uh having a little whiskey before bed or something like that will help us to get a good night's sleep. And the truth is that alcohol does help you to fall asleep faster. But that's where the benefits end. Alcohol releases or encourages the release of a hormone called adenosine, and that is the hormone that helps you to fall asleep. When you drink a lot of alcohol, that is the hormone that helps you to pass out. If you've ever tried to wake a drunk person, you will know exactly what that's like. And what happens is once that adenosine has been released and it has been used, it wears off very quickly. So we fall into a deeper, more intense sleep, but only for a short period of time. After that, the body tries to overcompensate for the poor sleep it's had up until that point. And it ends up waking you up more often. Your REM sleep, which is where all the restoration takes place, your REM sleep cycles get shorter and less frequent. And all that accumulates into you waking up in the morning feeling completely unrested and unrestored because you've not given yourself that chance to get everything sorted out, both the weird, crazy dreams that you have, which is actually your brain's way of sorting things out, and your body doing the rest and repair that it needs to after late nights, after exercise, after working lots. So sleep is so important at this time of year. And I really want you to protect yours fiercely because, in return, it will protect you, your decision making, uh, the willpower that you do use, your cognitive decision making, and all the behavioral patterns that you rely on all stem from getting a good night's sleep. So pay attention to your sleep. Track your sleep quality on drinking nights versus non-drinking nights. I think that one of the best and easiest ways to do this is just to use the notes app on your phone or a little notepad. Um make a note in the morning of how you're feeling, make a note of how you've slept, and also obviously make a note of what you drank the night before and what time you drank it. Speaking of which, another way to protect your sleep when it comes to alcohol is to make sure that if you do consume alcohol in an evening, you stop at least three hours before you intend to go to bed. This gives your body time to process the alcohol that you've consumed and therefore allows you to get a good, uninterrupted night's sleep. And then there's all the other stuff that you can do for better sleep hygiene, such as a dark room, a cool temperature, and no scrolling before bed. Don't sit on TikTok for an hour in bed with the TV on, listening to a podcast and doing all the things all at once. Give yourself the chance to actually get some restoration and come out fighting the next day. Now, I actually cover alcohol, Ansley, in more detail inside the four-week midlife mindful drinking reset on week three, which is all about optimizing your energy, managing your stress, and optimizing your health. So if that is something that you want to explore further, then do check the link in the show notes and check out the four week midlife mindful drinking reset. And of course, don't forget to open today's day on the advent calendar where you will find a few extra things that can help you get a good night's sleep. I will see you tomorrow for day 16. And until then, cheers to a Christmas less intoxicated.