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I recently got an apple watch and along the way installed a sleep tracking app. I was skeptical of its accuracy until I realized that I could identify the night

by jghn 9y ago

I recently got an apple watch and along the way installed a sleep tracking app. I was skeptical of its accuracy until I realized that I could identify the nights I'd been drinking with 100% accuracy as those nights the tracker didn't seem to think I slept hardly at all. I always knew I'd be tired the next day but this was eye opening.

36bydesign 9y ago
What app did you use? I want to try this also.
- LeoPanthera 9y ago
  Not OP but I use Autosleep. Works well.
  - jghn 9y ago
    Also autosleep
JauntyHatAngle 9y ago
Anecdotal, but my fitbit gave me the same result. Every single time I had drunk - even 1-2 - there was a spike of restlessness that night, 10-20 restless periods vs the 3-4 I would have normally.
ProAm 9y ago
This is because alcohol is an anesthetic. And the human body will tend to wake up after an anesthetic wears off. I believe the anesthetic properties of alcohol lasts roughly 4 hours, so if you sleep you'll probably begin to stir and wake up 4 hours after your last drink. Very similar to surgery patients who naturally wake up after the anesthetic used for surgery wears off.
- damontal 9y ago
  4 hours for me like clockwork after a few drinks before bed.
  - wasx 9y ago
    This is crazy but I'm pretty similar, is this a documented effect that I could read more about? Almost always after a night of heavy drinking I wake from anywhere between 5am - 8am and have a rough time getting back to sleep for at least a few hours. Knowing my drinking patterns, those times would tend to correlate to about 4 hours earlier passing out.
    - Tiksi 9y ago
      This happens to many people in around the same timeframe, I'm pretty sure it's due to GABA rebound https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/mind-read/alcohol_sleep_and_why_you https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/mind-read/alcohol_sleep... From what I recall, alcohol binds to GABA receptors, GABA builds up in the body, eventually metabolizes to glutamate which takes a few hours depending on how much you drink, but seems to be around half a night's sleep. The glutamate wakes you up and gives you energy, hence the strange "feeling great after a night of drinking on no sleep" thing.
- rando444 9y ago
  That's just how sleep works. Everyone's REM sleep cycles last 90-120 minutes. https://www.howsleepworks.com/types_rem.html https://www.howsleepworks.com/types_rem.html
alonmower 9y ago
Ya, I just got an apple watch a couple of weeks ago and noticed this as well. It's crazy - ~4 hours of deep sleep on a normal night and 1.5-2 on a night where I've had even just a single drink

by jghn 9y ago

36bydesign 9y ago

What app did you use? I want to try this also.

LeoPanthera 9y ago
Not OP but I use Autosleep. Works well.
- jghn 9y ago
  Also autosleep

JauntyHatAngle 9y ago

Anecdotal, but my fitbit gave me the same result. Every single time I had drunk - even 1-2 - there was a spike of restlessness that night, 10-20 restless periods vs the 3-4 I would have normally.

ProAm 9y ago

This is because alcohol is an anesthetic. And the human body will tend to wake up after an anesthetic wears off. I believe the anesthetic properties of alcohol lasts roughly 4 hours, so if you sleep you'll probably begin to stir and wake up 4 hours after your last drink. Very similar to surgery patients who naturally wake up after the anesthetic used for surgery wears off.

damontal 9y ago
4 hours for me like clockwork after a few drinks before bed.
- wasx 9y ago
  This is crazy but I'm pretty similar, is this a documented effect that I could read more about? Almost always after a night of heavy drinking I wake from anywhere between 5am - 8am and have a rough time getting back to sleep for at least a few hours. Knowing my drinking patterns, those times would tend to correlate to about 4 hours earlier passing out.
  - Tiksi 9y ago
    This happens to many people in around the same timeframe, I'm pretty sure it's due to GABA rebound https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/mind-read/alcohol_sleep_and_why_you https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/mind-read/alcohol_sleep... From what I recall, alcohol binds to GABA receptors, GABA builds up in the body, eventually metabolizes to glutamate which takes a few hours depending on how much you drink, but seems to be around half a night's sleep. The glutamate wakes you up and gives you energy, hence the strange "feeling great after a night of drinking on no sleep" thing.
rando444 9y ago
That's just how sleep works. Everyone's REM sleep cycles last 90-120 minutes. https://www.howsleepworks.com/types_rem.html https://www.howsleepworks.com/types_rem.html

alonmower 9y ago

Ya, I just got an apple watch a couple of weeks ago and noticed this as well. It's crazy - ~4 hours of deep sleep on a normal night and 1.5-2 on a night where I've had even just a single drink