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This is simply a question thread about experiences with alcohol as a treatment for sleeping issues. I had this question burning in my stomach for a while now, and while the Big G did provide search results, i'm not quite sure about the answers i got. Here's my Situation: I am in my early twenties, and i do not drink on a regular basis. I do enjoy consuming beer because i enjoy the taste, and i enjoy straight vodka and whisky because of the warmth that spreads in my stomach from it, but i drink it only occasionally. Now, for context, i often have a bad taste in my mouth after waking up, and i often have to brush my teeth after waking up for it to go away. While this doesn't harm me, it IS quite annoying. What IS hurting me, is my tendency to oversleep and my lack of energy while awake, probably because something impacts the quality of my sleep, though i don't know what it is. Back to the main topic: When i drink half a litre of beer, preferably strong beer, right before bed, i wake up early in the morning, without bad aftertaste, feel alert and well, and i generally have a lot of energy. It's kinda like it helps me sleep and makes my sleep better. But that's not the end of it. I also noticed that a bit of booze helps me work harder and better, not just physically, but also mentally, making me more proactive, and helps me overcome my passiveness. Now, as for my question(s): Is this all just an effect of alcohol in general, or is there some underlying issue within me, that is smoothed out by alcohol consumption? I really need only a little, not enough to make me seriously drunk. Does anyone else have any experience with alcohol that matches mine? Do you have any more information on it? I really don't believe in generalized statements and norms, because everyone's body is pretty much a unique piece of biotechnological machinery, with it's own kinks and adaptations, so i hoped that maybe someone can tell me more about what effect alcohol has in detail, more so that Doc G can. Thank y'all in advance.

>Now, for context, i often have a bad taste in my mouth after waking up, and i often have to brush my teeth after waking up for it to go away. While this doesn't harm me, it IS quite annoying. Is the annoying part brushing your teeth or the taste? You need to brush your teeth every morning whether or not you've got a bad taste in your mouth. As for the taste, that's normal but in my experience I only get it if I eat food after my nightly tooth brushing, or if I do a poor job brushing at night. Do you brush every night and refrain from food and beverages (aside from water)? As for alcohol and sleep, I get hyped the fuarrrk up if I drink and have more trouble falling asleep. I'm not wasting a buzz on sleeping. But when I do pass out, I sleep like a rock, so I could see it helping some people sleep, in the short term. But everyone I've known who used alcohol as a sleep aid ended up with worse sleep problems and two of them developed other health problems directly because of their alcohol consumption. >I also noticed that a bit of booze helps me work harder and better, not just physically, but also mentally, making me more proactive, and helps me overcome my passiveness. I doubt this and suggest you gather objective, qualitative data on the subject. I've known many people who believe they're better developers after x number of beers, but always their sober code is much better from my outside perspective. Alcohol makes you feel more confident in your solutions, but it also makes you dumber, so the solutions usually are not as good as a sober solution, and you're too blinded by your booze induced false-confidence to notice. There are better sleep aids that aren't addictive and impairing. > or is there some underlying issue within me, that is smoothed out by alcohol consumption? We can't know from the little you've said. We don't know you personally. But it sounds to me like you're not confident or proactive enough sober and you're falling into the classic trap of using alcohol to make up for it instead of actually working on it. Many many alcoholics before you have said everything you've said in your post.

>>11817 Definitely the taste. And i never eat or drink after brushing my teeth before bed, as that defeats the purpose IMHO. Now here's the funny thing: It may seem counterintuitive, but all the testing i've done (on myself, for a lack of other subjects), included consuming a beer after i brushed my teeth, not before it. No bad taste in the morning. As for the developer part, i have no idea, i never touched a line of code in my life, all i can say is about hands-on work, which also included brainstorming about how to solve a certain problem in the present (most basic example: how to get that nut loose, without damaging the thread?). It definitely helps me put more strength into action, and i can work longer without it impacting me. I know that it's hard to give a helpful answer on the internet, but i'm not looking for a diagnosis or an analysis of myself anyways, only what other people have experienced. Thank you for your answer.

Late but what is this taste ? A beer in the mouth probably puts a lot of sugar around, might be good for bacteria. Might it be actually a brushed teeth taste thats bothering you ? What happens when you drink water after brushing/rinse your mouth out with it ? what about whiskey? What about no teeth brushing before bed at all? Ive noticed somewhat stranger, more memorable dreams after drinking very modestly before bed (less than one full drink about an hour before). Some people cannot sleep while at all drunk, others sleep better. I sympathize a bit with the working-with-a-bit-of-booze bit. Dont need to be actually drunk, barely buzzed, but it can help with certain inhibitious proclivities. I don't really do software, more hands on work generally that still requires care though. I think I'd cut my fingers off if I tried to work really drunk lol.

>i often have a bad taste in my mouth after waking up, and i often have to brush my teeth after waking up for it to go away. While this doesn't harm me, it IS quite annoying. What IS hurting me, is my tendency to oversleep and my lack of energy while awake, probably because something impacts the quality of my sleep, though i don't know what it is. Back to the main topic: When i drink half a litre of beer, preferably strong beer, right before bed, i wake up early in the morning, without bad aftertaste, feel alert and well, and i generally have a lot of energy. It's kinda like it helps me sleep and makes my sleep better. Is it possible that what is causing these symptoms is mild alcohol withdrawal, and drinking before bed quells them? Insomnia is one of the symptoms according to WebMD: >“Mild symptoms usually occur in the first 6 hours to 48 hours after the last drink,” Belani says. “Mild symptoms can include insomnia, tremulousness, palpitations, sweating, headache, and gastrointestinal issues.” If you really don't drink on a regular basis though then maybe it's more likely something else. You could test it by abstaining from alcohol for two weeks and monitoring whether your issues are worst in the first few days and then improve. Ultimately I'd try out other, safer sleep aids either way, two beers before bed anytime you want quality sleep seems like a bad idea.

>Alcohol for Sleeping Issues Single most stupid idea I ever heard. Not just because of how dangerous daily drinking is, but also because of how ineffective it is considering the quick tolerance buildup. >What IS hurting me, is my tendency to oversleep and my lack of energy while awake Alcohol will only worsen this. If you oversleep and lack energy that means your sleep is of poor quality, very likely because you're not getting enough REM sleep (which alcohol will make 10x worse). Have you thought about changing your sleeping habits before grabbing for drugs? I tried earbuds, sleeping masks, sleeping on the hard floor, sleeping on a comfortable bed, meditation, drinking tea and a plethora of things while learning to nap, which gave me the ability to sleep in 10 mins max. >When i drink half a litre of beer, preferably strong beer, right before bed, i wake up early in the morning, without bad aftertaste, feel alert and well And what are you gonna do when this is no longer the case? Do you think you'll just be able to stop drinking before bed without any consequences? >I also noticed that a bit of booze helps me work harder and better, not just physically, but also mentally, making me more proactive, and helps me overcome my passiveness Bullshit. If you haven't noticed it's the alcohol talking by now you're beyond curing. Even drinking during an afteroon before a workday will decrease your cognitive abilities. If you're wondering why I'm being passive aggressive, I had a friend who suffered through delirium tremens (severe alcohol withdrawal, he sometimes drank 500mL of pure alcohol within a day). If you really need something to fall asleep first look into melatonin, then CBD and if you're really not left with any options mirtazepine.

Alcohol will make your sleep worse if anything. >When i drink half a litre of beer, preferably strong beer, right before bed, i wake up early in the morning, without bad aftertaste, feel alert and well, and i generally have a lot of energy. Is this effect reliable? Have you tested if maybe you're doing something else that made your sleep better?

>>12008 not op but this is decidedly not the case for me.

Every time I come on this board I see new and interesting bad ideas.

OP here. Been completely abstaining from alcohol for about 3 months now. I tried following things: >going to sleep earlier Helps with sleepiness, although this requires me to set an alarm, otherwise i oversleep and will be sleepy the next day. Probably something with my sleep cycle. >not brushing teeth before bed, but 1 hour before that. didn't really help with the taste, I kinda have a bad taste in my mouth after waking up. Maybe it's something with the microbial fauna in there, maybe it's just my particular brand of toothpaste (simple mint flavoured fluoridated toothpaste). I don't know what to do about it, i don't particularly like the taste, but i want to keep my teeth healthy. I also tried not brushing my teeth before bed, and this resulted in no bad taste after waking up, so it's probably not the alcohol, but something about my mouth microflora. >work without minor buzz. Pretty much as expected. I am not an addict, and i knew what i was talking about when writing my initial post - i pretty much work normally, but i definitely know how i work with a minor buzz, which i get easily after a single strong beer. I don't need it, but i know that i have an easier time working with it. In general, i don't have a bad time abstaining from alcohol, but it doesn't help either. As for your answers: >>12001 It's a kind of sticky, foul taste, like what you would expect if you didn't brush your teeth, which sounds paradoxical, but it's exactly what i taste. I don't know if i'm killing my mouth bacteria, but it would seem like it. As for other alcohol: It seems that strong alcohols like vodka and whiskey make my mouth taste bad in the mornings, just like with brushing my teeth. OTOH, when i drink beer, or, as i tested in the three month abstinence period, i eat a bit before bed, not brushing my teeth after, i don't have a bad taste afterwards. >>12002 As mentioned above, tried abstinence. No negative effects, but also no improvements. It seems that beer doesn't have an effect on the taste, but rather if i brush/don't brush my teeth before bed, so probably a mouth bacteria problem >>12007 >melatonin, CBD, Mirtazepine I guess you mean well, but those are not things that i want to touch. i never did drugs in my life (aside from aforementioned alcohol) and taking medication is something i don't want to subject myself to. >the entirety of your post I appreciate your worry, but you seem to have a vastly overinflated picture of my problem. I don't have an alcohol problem, as i stated in this post, but it rather seems like a bacterial problem in my mouth. A mild buzz helps me with productivity in less mentally demanding tasks, but also makes mildly mentally demanding tasks easier. I don't drink myself to sleep or drink because i cannot work otherwise, so about 90% of your post is misplaced, although i appreciate the sentiment. God knows too many people are actually dependent on alcohol to survive their day to day life. >>12008 >sleep worse definitely not the case. I have a deeper sleep and am less sleepy in the morning when i drink mildly, MILDLY is the main focus. I know how i sleep when drunk out of my mind, like a log that is, for 10 or more hours, and i definitely feel worse after such excessive drinking. Also, yes the effect is reliable, i can do this an entire week, or a few times per week, and the effect is constant. >>12010 Everything can be a bad idea if it is not thought through properly. Which is why i'm asking for second opinions and testing the reaction of my body to this.

>>12587 Tesla called alcohol the elixir of life. In my own experience, drinking while working is fuarrrking phenomenal. Real work too, trenching, just like Tesla, actually. Social interactions are also much more direct, a huge plus in a team environment. And yeah, it helps me sleep, too. I've never drunk too much at work, but exploring alcohols benefits(pretty normal for mid 20s males), I drank way too consistently and suffered for it. Ignore the call of alcohol. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy it; Knowing it will pull you is just part of being responsible, and it's hard to see in yourself when it first starts. I also never get drunk, and dislike it entirely. I never touch liquor, either. Certain people evolved alongside alcohol, but don't constrain the potential variation of resistances. "Drinks like she's Irish but holds it like a Native" is a funny example, and perfect, because albeit evolutionary groups like German or Irish(and myriad others) being considered genetically predisposed to alcoholism, it having been a staple foodstuff for 5,000+ years, we also have Native American alcoholics predisposed in a genetic, but entirely different fashion: Natives have only been exposed to alcohol for 2-300 years. Therein is an extremely interesting issue, as 2 predispositions precipitate as the single symptom "alcoholism." Natives, with 0 genetic acclimation for alcohol consumption, and Irish(etc) groups, with(perhaps} too much acclimation to it's consumption. Test away. Just know without doubt, in all our shared love of it, it is addictive poison. Don't drink every day fam.

>>11815 Maybe mild anxiety and alcohol helps with that? Don't go down the alcohol route tho, I can tell you from experience it fuarrrking is like kicking dead whales down the beach.

>>12624 >Tesla called alcohol the elixir of life. it is also worth remembering that he was suspicious of chewing gum. Would you rather be associated with General Santa Anna, or Nick Tesla?

glad I'm not the only one who experiences sleepiness from alcohol I'm suprised I haven't heard that many people talk about it for me it's a pretty strong part of drinking the feeling

Alcohol can help you to fall asleep but it always makes you wake up 2-4 hours later and have a harder time going back to sleep. Its terrible to use to help with sleep ultimately.

>>12678 thats a funny claim and its definitly not true for me, when drinking in either small or large quanitites. People frequently get up late after parties because they stayed up well past their normal bed times, not because of alcohol.