27 Sep Why are your holidays making you tired and sleepy?
The seasonal festivities bring an increased amount of sleep, however they can also bring a surprising level of tiredness as well. ABC news published published an article about this, however it’s still relevant because every year is pretty similar
Alcohol
Alcohol can impact on your sleep for some time after you have consumed it. Binge drinking can reduce melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy, for maybe five or seven nights.
The ABC quoted Professor Dorothy Bruck who says “Often when people go on holidays, they drink a lot more alcohol and this can have a really detrimental effect on the quality of your sleep”. If it’s just a couple of drinks, the disruptive impact will be limited to that night.
“[The alcohol] might help you go to sleep and for the first half of the night, your sleep can be dead to the world. But the second half of the night, [sleep] is much more fragmented,” Dr Bruck says.
Tummy troubles
The holiday season is also a time when people tend to eat a bit more than normal. They also tend to feast on a wider variety of foods; some of which may disagree with their.
Discomfort in the digestive system can cause sleep disturbances, with chilli and other spicy foods a particular problem, according to recent researchers.
Other stimulants foods as a sugary dessert can be a problem too, if people eat just before bed. Dr Bruck says. The effect should not last longer than an hour or two.
Daytime naps
Afternoon siestas when you don’t have to work can be one of the nicest parts of being on holidays.
We often link an afternoon break in our alertness to the effects of eating lunch. But the “mid-afternoon dip”, is actually a normal characteristic of our circadian rhythm and can happen whether you have had food or not, Dr Bruck says.
Reference: