Is booze to blame for bad bed rest?
Published: 25 August 2010
Excessive alcohol consumption could be behind many people's inability to get a good night's sleep beneath their duvet cover.
People unable to find a cause for their inability to get a good night's sleep between their duvet cover and luxury bed linen may be drinking too much alcohol.Scientists from Taipei Medical University have found evidence suggesting that excessive drinking is linked to lower levels of a certain messenger gene molecule that is responsible for controlling circadian rhythms, including what is known as our internal body clock.
Patients with an alcohol dependency that were investigated as part of the study were found to have significantly lower levels of ribonucleic acid, which is useful for regulating physiological functions such as body temperature, hormone secretions and the sleep/wake cycle.
However, Taipei Medical University researcher Sy-Jye Leu points out that the consequences of a disrupted body clock can be far worse than just losing sleep beneath a duvet cover.
She explained: "This altered expression is closely related to circadian rhythm dysfunction and might link to a variety of physiological problems such as sleep/wake cycle dysregulation, depression, and even cancer."
The human body clock can also be disrupted by jet lag, the psychiatric effects of which scientists at the University of Manchester are hoping to curb with the development of a new drug.
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