We’ve already told you what’s happening to your body while you’re sleeping — but it’s a much different story when you pass out after a night of drinking.
When you sleep with alcohol in your system, your REM cycle is disrupted, you are awake more often, you have fewer dreams and your heart rate does not slow down like it should, according to Men’s Health.
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You’re probably thinking well, being drunk has usually helped me fall asleep faster. That’s because alcohol slows down your nervous system. However, your active sympathetic nervous system will wake you up when the sleepiness of alcohol wears off (hence, why you wake frantically in the early hours of the morning wondering what the hell is going on).
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So why do you feel like crap when you wake up in the morning? Your body typically loses 9% of REM sleep in the first half of the night. According to research done in the United Kingdom, a typical night’s sleep allows for 7 or 8 REM cycles but after drinking, you usually only have 1 or 2.
Because of your confused nervous system, you also are tossing around more while you sleep and therefore your body really isn’t getting the rest it deserves.
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Chances are you most likely aren’t going to stop drinking late at night on the weekends anytime soon. However, try drinking a few glasses of water before you sleep to help your body regulate the alcohol.
Also, staying up late and ordering food or destroying your kitchen may not be the worst thing for you — this allows more time for your body to process the alcohol out of your system allowing for a better sleep.
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