Drinking evenings are often accompanied by mornings where individuals are likely to vaguely remember rather strange dreams. However, the fact is that despite appearances, alcohol is technically not responsible.
The phenomenon discussed here is related to sleep. First of all, remember that sleep is broken down into four phases, the first two of which are synonymous with light sleep. During the third, on the other hand, sleep is deeper. Most of the time, dreams occur in the fourth phase called Rapid eye movement (REM). This phase is also known as REM sleep.
You should know that alcohol facilitates access to the third phase. This happens through the overgrowth of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). However, this neurotransmitter has the particularity of making REM sleep disappear , at least temporarily. Indeed during the night, the blood alcohol level goes down and paradoxical sleep gradually resumes its place in the cycle. This is a rebound phase. Thus, GABAs are disrupted and fragments sleep, generating phases of awakening.
Furthermore, it is incumbent to remember that the cycles of sleep follow one another. In other words, the REM sleep phase is logically followed by the first three phases. After a drunken evening, these first phases generally become shorter and give more time to REM sleep.
Because waking phases are more frequent, people are more likely to wake up in the middle of a dream. However, here it becomes a question of a kind of successive back and forth between dreams and reality. As a result, dreams are less anchored in memory.
Although alcohol cannot be clearly held responsible for the impressions of strange dreams, this one is guilty of splitting sleep. Thus, individuals tend to remember having had strange dreams , but their content remains vague and difficult to explain. In addition, you should know that if alcohol helps to find sleep, it is known to alter its quality, especially associated with the consumption of caffeine in large quantities.
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