For the past two years, health has been the topic of discussion in just about every social interaction out there! Sleep makes or breaks us each day. Some days we oversleep, some days we sleep too little!
Getting a night of good sleep is going to heavily affect our decisions during the day, especially as substance users. A study published by ScienceDirect that focused on sleep habits found that those who were experiencing sleep deprivation had stronger cravings for alcohol in the morning and afternoon. Although the same study did not find an increase in alcohol use, a lack of sleep may be a high stressor if an individual already has substance abuse issues.
Alcohol, despite inducing feelings of relaxation and sleepiness, has been linked to poor sleep quality. Even low amounts of alcohol (about two drinks for men and one drink for women) have shown to decrease sleep quality by 9.3% and large amounts of alcohol (more than two drinks) decreased sleep quality by a staggering 39.2%. As the liver enzymes metabolize the alcohol during the night individuals are more likely to experience sleep interruptions, decreasing their sleep quality.
A majority of adults require 7-9 hours of sleep, but some adults require as few as six hours or up to 10 hours. As sleep is very dependent on the individual person, consult your doctor and figure out what may be the best for you. Sleep is one of the most important things you could do; during that time sleep is actively working to repair and heal your body.
If you have problems sleeping, here are some handy tips and practices to keep in mind! Turn off devices at least three hours before bedtime. Blue light is probably the worst thing you can be shining in your eyes before you are trying to sleep; blue light at night is linked to poor sleep as the light messes with our circadian rhythm, waking our brains up when they should be winding down.
Sticking to a tight sleep schedule also helps, as your body’s internal clock gets used to the times it is supposed to wind down and wake up. And if you find yourself not being able to fall asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed, leave to go do something relaxing. Read or listen to soothing music/sounds until you are feeling tired.
The Prevention Resource Center 11 is part of a large network of prevention programs that aim to reduce alcohol and other drug use among adolescents in the South Texas region. PRC operates as the data repository for Region 11 and produces a yearly Regional Needs Assessment that we provide back to the community. PRC provides this assessment and other studies conducted in Region 11, all available for free on our website: www.prc11.org/data.
The creation of the RNA would not be possible without the help of our community. If you would like to help with this project please contact me at (956) 787-7111, ext. 243, or Daniel Rodriguez, program coordinator, at (956) 787-7111, ext. 238.
Jarod Munoz is public relations coordinator for the Prevention Resources Center in Pharr.
