Luxe Recovery is a world-class inpatient treatment center. In our facility, which is equipped with amenities like a game room, gym, and a pool, we offer industry-leading care for a variety of substance use disorders, process addictions, and mental health concerns.
An Overview of Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that the human body produces as a response to darkness. It increases at night to signal the body that it’s time to sleep and decreases in the morning to tell it to wake up. This helps time the body’s circadian rhythm (internal clock) and regulate sleep cycles.
Melatonin, sometimes referred to as the sleep hormone, is often used as a sleep aid by people who have troubled sleep patterns, like those with jet lag or who work the night shift.
Melatonin supplements are often available over the counter and help people achieve healthy sleep patterns by helping them adjust to a new sleep schedule or resetting their circadian rhythm.
It should be noted that while melatonin may help a lot of people who have trouble sleeping, the use of melatonin as a sleep aid is not for everyone. Anyone who uses it should talk to a doctor before taking melatonin, especially if they’re taking medication or have a medical condition.
Melatonin interacts with blood thinners, birth control, diabetes medication, and immunosuppressants. If you intend to use it, use it responsibly and don’t take more than the recommended dosage.
Side Effects of Melatonin
Increased drowsiness
Because melatonin is the hormone that signals that it is time to sleep, taking it can cause someone to feel sleepy or drowsy. However, while this is the intended effect of taking melatonin supplements, it can still be problematic if taken during the day.
Gastrointestinal Issues and Chills
Taking melatonin may result in some gastrointestinal discomfort in the form of nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. It’s also been known to occasionally lower a person’s body temperature, which is not dangerous in and of itself, but some people feel a little chilly when it happens.
Dizziness and Headaches
Some individuals who take melatonin may experience headaches and dizziness. While these side effects normally go away independently, you should talk to a healthcare provider if they persist.
Disrupted Sleep Schedule
While melatonin can be instrumental in helping people sleep and treating sleep disorders, taking too much of it or taking it at the wrong time can disrupt a person’s normal sleep schedule. This can result in being sleepy during the day or feeling jet-lagged.
How Alcohol Affects the Body
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant whose consumption is normalized in society.
People drink it for a variety of reasons, such as when toasting a milestone or just hanging out with friends. While alcohol consumption itself isn’t necessarily dangerous when people drink responsibly and avoid alcohol addiction, there are several ways in which it can impact the body when it is misused.
Chronic alcohol abuse can irreversibly damage the liver, the brain, and the cardiovascular system. Alcohol use can also impact how a person sleeps.
What Alcohol Consumption Can Do To Sleep
Because alcohol is a depressant with sedative effects, it can sometimes be used as a sleep aid. However, it can disrupt the stages of someone’s sleep. The REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of sleep is the sleep that refreshes a person.
This is the point of sleep where someone can experience dreams. Alcohol can reduce the time that is spent in REM sleep, which can leave someone feeling groggy when they wake up.
While alcohol can help someone get to sleep, it doesn’t mean that they’ll stay asleep for a full eight hours.
As the effects of alcohol wear off, a person can wake up multiple times. This leads to being less rested.
But the effects are short-term effects. Long-term alcohol abuse can contribute to the development of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, which is when someone’s breathing pauses while they sleep.
This can lead to getting low-quality sleep and feeling tired the next day, even if someone gets the full eight hours. Using it as a sleep aid may also lead to an alcohol dependency or Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), otherwise known as alcoholism.
Why Someone Might Be Mixing Melatonin and Alcohol
There are a few reasons as to why someone may be combining melatonin and alcohol. Some people believe that because both substances have sedative effects, taking alcohol and melatonin at once should help them fall asleep faster and get better quality sleep.
They may also mix alcohol and melatonin by accident. For instance, someone may pour themselves a drink to relax and then take melatonin to sleep without waiting enough time, usually around 2 to 3 hours, depending on how much alcohol was consumed.
There are also instances when someone who chronically abuses alcohol takes melatonin to offset the negative impact that alcohol has on sleep.
The Dangers of Mixing Melatonin with Alcohol
While it can seem as if combining alcohol and melatonin might be an effective way to get better sleep, that is not actually the case. Combining melatonin and alcohol may lead to numerous side effects and complications.
Enhanced Sedation
Because melatonin and alcohol both have sedative effects, taking the two together can enhance how sedated a person becomes.
This may seem like it would be ideal to get to sleep quickly, but it can impair cognitive function even after waking up. A person can wake up dazed or groggy.
Poor Sleep
The effects that alcohol has on sleep quality have already been mentioned, but taking melatonin may not offset these effects. A person can still lose out on REM sleep and wake up in the middle of the night.
Health Complications
The liver is vital in metabolizing both alcohol and melatonin. This means that taking the two in concert with one another can put an extra strain on the liver, which can lead to the development of liver disease over time.
Dependency
A major risk to consider when taking melatonin and alcohol at once is dependency. If a person becomes overly reliant on outside substances to fall asleep, it may reduce their ability to fall asleep naturally. Becoming dependent on these substances can also lead to developing a tolerance, in which case a person has to up their dosage to potentially unsafe levels to achieve the desired effect.
Overcome Dependence With Us
Melatonin supplements can be useful for helping someone get better sleep. However, problems can arise when its use is paired with alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse has long-term effects on a person’s health, but it can have immediate effects on a person’s quality of sleep, which can negatively impact the other parts of their life.
If you want to break free from alcohol abuse so you can sleep better at night and avoid the long-term health risks, contact us now, and we’ll get you on a path to sobriety.
