Sleep Panic Attacks and Alcohol
You’ve had a hard day at work and look forward to getting home, putting your feet up and opening a bottle of wine or having a scotch on the rocks or two. That nocturnal panic attack you had last night really spoilt you for the rest of day – you were unable to concentrate and things didn’t go as well as you would have liked. All you could think about was how bad you felt waking up in terror, unable to breathe and your heart pumping overtime. You slosh the alcohol into the glass and take a good long slug, all the while worrying about the night ahead.
Well, you have just made your first mistake. If you are prone to panic attacks and anxiety, then unfortunately, drinking alcohol is the worst thing you can do. Studies have shown that 20% of people suffering from anxiety disorders like panic attacks have a problem with alcohol and 20% of those with a drinking or substance abuse problem also have an anxiety disorder. There are some experts who consider these results to be conservative ie there is a larger connection between the two.
When we feel anxious about something, we are likely to reach for a drink. Consider the last party you went to – maybe you didn’t know many people there, or parties aren’t really your thing and you didn’t really want to be there. Odds are that there was an alcoholic drink in your hand within seconds. And that’s ok. A glass or two here and there isn’t a problem – unless you suffer from an anxiety disorder. The more you worry, the more you drink – the more you drink, the more the alcohol in your system acts as a stimulant which then increases the likelihood that you will hyperventilate, thus increasing the risk of a panic attack.
Drinking alcohol can alter the way the brain works and damage the parts of the brain that are responsible for keeping anxiety in check. So just imagine all of this happening just before bedtime. A lot of people state they drink before bedtime to help them sleep – and yes, alcohol will send you to sleep quicker, but then after a few hours it will wake you up again as it interferes with the sequence and duration of sleep and the body’s regulation of the sleep states. It takes as little as one glass of wine before bed for a sleep disorder to develop.
The first piece of advice for anyone suffering from panic attacks – nocturnal or otherwise – is to cut out the alcohol, either completely or keep consumption to a bare minimum. Come home from work and have a cup of soothing herbal tea instead. It might not be as glamorous but neither are sleep panic attacks.
Emma Hudson is a panic attacks expert. For more great information on sleep panic attacks, visit
http.//www.panicattackneedtoknow.com.
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/sleep-articles/sleep-panic-attacks-and-alcohol-1536273.html
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