Sometimes falling asleep is no easy task, and for many it’s downright difficult to do under any circumstance. Due to its sedative effect, alcohol is a common choice for those who have a hard time finding a way to fall asleep. It’s important to consider the other effects, however, that alcohol will have—namely on the very sleep these people use it to achieve. Booze before bedtime may appear to ease the transition into dreamland, but what happens after that is well worth taking note of.

Adults function best with anywhere between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. The consumption of alcoholic beverages before bedtime, interestingly enough, will effectively serve to cut the number of hours actually acquired in half. In fact, drinking alcohol at any time three hours or less before bed can lead to both early waking and disruptions in the sleep cycle on the whole. The entire sleep process is advanced by alcohol intake: N-REM sleep [also know as "deep sleep"] increases, incrementally decreasing REM [or "Rapid Eye Movement" rest]. The problem is that you need both types, in very balanced doses. You may be surprised to learn that these facts don’t deter many: in recent studies, some 28% of insomniacs claimed to have depended on alcohol as a means for falling asleep, and fully 67% described the practice as helpful.

The difficulty with this nighttime “medication” approach is plain: alcohol can either make sleep disorders more frequent, or increase your susceptibility to acquire them. The most common sleep disorder that occurs as a result of the consumption of alcohol before bedtime is obstructive sleep apnea, and it’s one of the most destructive in regard to heart health. Drinking alcohol will narrow your air passages and thereby make it harder to breathe at night. As you gasp for the air that’s being blocked, your sleep cycle is deeply disturbed. When air is obstructed in the passages, your heart must work much harder to get the oxygen that it needs, which results in lasting health problems if it persists over a long period of time.

Studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol even just an hour before bedtime causes major disruptions in the second part of the sleep cycle, which will lead to early awakening. As mentioned earlier, drinking alcohol before bedtime will not only shorten REM sleep but increase deep sleep. The resultant physiological state is known as “REM rebound.” After consuming high doses of alcohol, the body becomes sedated, causing you to fall asleep quickly. After you begin to snooze, your body becomes adjusted to that alcohol running through your blood stream. By the time the second part of the sleep cycle is underway, however, your body has metabolized [re: eliminated] the alcohol from your system, and it will attempt to return your metabolism to normal levels. This is where that rebound begins to occur. Instead of successfully returning to physiologically-normal levels [gauged by certain sleep variables such as the amount of REM sleep acquired at night] your body will over-compensate and change its course in the opposite direction, which results in a sleep disturbance. Furthermore, this disturbance will disrupt the proportionality of the various sleep stages. When rebound and its associated disturbances occur, your body won’t feel fully rested the next day. We all know what that’s like: an unclear [or "foggy"] state of mind and a marked inability to perform simple tasks at an optimal and efficient performance level.

Several studies have evaluated next-day performance and alertness in healthy people who consumed alcohol before falling asleep. In one such study, young pilots drank alcohol between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. in quantities sufficient to result in BACs [blood-alcohol concentrations] of 0.10-0.12 percent right before bedtime. The following morning, over 14 hours after consuming alcohol and with BACs reset to 0, the performance of pilots in a flight simulator was significantly impaired when compared to their performance after imbibing a placebo. The lack of continuity and longevity of the sleep they experienced after heavy drinking is the same as what everyone will suffer when doing so: it simply makes people slower and less attentive the following day.

It’s clear by now that the effects of alcohol on sleep can be dire. Though you may believe it’s helping you sleep, the consumption of alcohol before bed will only result in next-day fatigue and an inability to remain alert… and can actually lead to a serious sleeping disorder. Aside from the havoc it wreaks on your system when frequently drunk at high levels, alcohol can also be dangerous to others around you. There’s no question that critical mistakes are made every day by folks in all walks of life due to the effects of alcohol consumption, whether in the intoxicated state or, like the pilots mentioned, well after you think you’ve “slept it off.” Remember that there are several alternatives to alcohol that are both healthier and more effective when it comes to getting the shut-eye you require on a nightly basis. For starters, you might try getting into a sleep routine, which is a tremendously effective way to train your body’s physiological nature into winding down at night. You’re probably already aware that you should avoid caffeine, dairy products, and smoking before bedtime. Finally, consider going to bed an hour or two later—it can help you go to sleep faster because you’ll be more fatigued. And bear in mind that your old mattress may be part of the problem… switching to memory foam will improve your body’s blood circulation and alleviate the pressure points associated with traditional innerspring mattresses so that you get more restful sleep each night. In sum, you can do better for your body than waking up with a hangover every day. It’s time to make strides toward getting some quality sleep without alcohol.

Even if you do own a fine memory foam mattress like ours at www.bedinabox.com, you must be sure to have good sleeping habits to help you fully enjoy it!

Alcohol Alert. National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa41.htm. Retrieved on July 28th, 2009.
Alcohol and Sleep.Loyola Marymount Universtiy. http://www.lmu.edu/PageFactory.aspx?PageID=25070. Retrieved on July 28th, 2009.;

If you are looking for a short and fun booze-filled weekend, then Bristol may be the ideal destination for such your escapade. Street lined with booze clubs, lap dancing clubs and even a pub cruise ship, you and your lads are bound for a pretty exciting stag night as you crawl from pub to pub for a good liver whipping. Additionally, if you engage a tour operator such as Chillisauce to get you to the best destinations in town, your stag night in Bristol will almost certainly be awesome!

Start your night with a cruise on the Margaret or the Countess for an authentic cruise Bristol style. Absolutely perfect for warm summer nights, you will be treated either to an open canopy cruise on the Margaret or experience a taste of elegant old Victorian flavour at the Countess. The cruise boats stop at 3 pubs out of the 15 available, giving you the opportunity to savour the beer at multiple pubs.

Other interesting stag night activities in Bristol include the party bus, the Bavarian Bierkelle or a nightclub with drinking pods. The wide variety of options in store for you will definitely make your Bristol stag nights unforgettable. For a taste of German oversized beers, authentic German sausages or even dances on the tables, a night out in the Bavarian Bierkeller would be perfect. What’s more, with a free flow of booze lined up, you’d better be sure that your stomach is up for it!

With a bunch of lads around, it’s always fun to go for a pub crawl throughout your stag nights at Bristol. The best place for this would be along the quay side where lots of pubs line the streets, each within a few hundred metres from one another. It’s so easy to drink the night away in Bristol!

Finally, VIP clubs are aplenty, with pre-arranged entry arrangements already made if you engage a fully bonded tour operator such as Chillisauce for this. Most importantly, you will be exempted from queuing up like the rest of the locals, which means that you’ll waste no time partying. Chillisauce has already done the homework for you, so we’ll only take you to the best places that Bristol has to offer. We ensure that your stag night will be something to remember!

You know that you have got a problem with booze when:

1. before every party or social occasion your partner asks you “not to drink too much tonight”.
2. you feel that everyone in your company drinks too slowly or doesn’t know how to let their hair down and have a good time – like you.
3. you are having extra drinks when you go to the bar, because (see number 2).
4. you hate going to any social occasion if there is no opportunity to drink.
5. you think about drinking constantly, can’t wait to finish work to go and have a drink, can’t wait to be finished ..anything.. to go and have a drink.
6. you hide alcohol around the house, garage, office, wherever.
7. you lie about how much you drink and how often you are drunk, always minimising the amount.
8. you can’t, or find it difficult, to set a limit on the number of drinks and keep to it.
9. you drink too much at inappropriate times, embarrass your family, friends and self.
10. you feel guilty about the night before and have difficulty looking people in the eye.
11. your hands shake in the morning
12. you feel sweaty on waking and for most of the day
13. the previous night’s drinking is a bit of a blur, or worse still a blank.
14. your partner increasingly criticises your drinking
15. your friends increasingly criticise your drinking
16. your co-workers and/or boss increasingly criticise your drinking
17. you don’t count your money in dollars or ponds but in the number of drinks that it will buy
18. you are always the last of your group to leave the bar and the first to suggest another bar or another drink somewhere else.
19. you find it increasingly difficult to talk to people or socialise without having had a drink.
20. you want a drink as soon as you wake up

If you experience a couple of them occasionally it does not necessarily mean that you have a problem with booze. It is when these signs are regular features of your drinking that they are significant. We can all overindulge on occasion but if these occasions are becoming more frequent and you are experiencing an increasing number of these signs then maybe you need to take a hard look at your lifestyle and your drinking. Also you do not need to be experiencing all of these signs to have a problem, a few of them is more than enough. If you do feel that you need help check with your family doctor sooner rather than later. Like most problems, drinking problems are easier to treat when they are detected early.

If you enjoy going out and getting hammered but don’t really dig spending 50 bucks getting drunk at some random bar, there are many options available to you

First off, this is new secret to most people, but pre-gaming is crucial. If you live in a major city, cheap booze is impossible to find at bars. A beer can cost 5 dollars and mixed drinks more. Even at a cheap college bar, shots can cost 5bucks. What this translates into is dropping serious cash just go get a buzz going. Pre-gaming successfully is all about finding a balance of getting as drunk as possible off your own alcohol before you leave, while still being functional enough to make it out without trouble.

Secondly, bring a flask. Yeah, I know, that may seem somewhat shady or cheap to be drinking from a flask at a bar, but guess what – everyone there is drunk. Obviously if you’re going out for drinks and on a date, you’re going to look like an asshole, but this definitely isn’t the case here. I’ve done it a few times, and anyone that’s noticed has simply showered me in praise for the idea, slurring out promises that they’re going to do the same next weekend. If you can hold 5 or 6 shots in one flask, you instantly save 30 dollars. Carrying one between bars to maintain your level is also key, and it’s likely you’re going to have your drunk buddies begging you to get a sip on the way back.

A third and ultimate way of getting cheap booze is simply to make it yourself. A simple home-made wine can be made for around a dollar per gallon, and will get anyone drunk. The process is fairly simple, and the ingredients can be either bought at a grocery store or found around the house. All it involves is combing a fruit juice with yeast and sugar in a clean, sterilized container, and waiting. For more information and other ways to save a ton of money visit http://gettingcheap.blogspot.com/2009/02/cheap-booze-how-to-get-wasted-without.html

In 1656 the village of Tequila (named for the local Ticuilas Indians) was granted a charter by the governor of New Galicia. Tax records of the time show that Mezcal was already being produced in the area. This Mezcal, made from the local blue agave, established a reputation for having a superior taste, and barrels of the “Mezcal wine from Tequila” were soon being shipped to nearby Guadalajara and more distant cities such as the silver-mining boomtowns of San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes.

The oldest of the still-existing distilleries in Tequila dates back to 1795, when the Spanish Crown granted a distiller’s license to a local padrone by the name of José Cuervo. In 1805 a distillery was established that would ultimately come under the control of the Sauza family. By the mid 1800s there were dozens of distilleries and millions of agave plants under cultivation around Tequila in what had become the state of Jalisco. Gradually, the locally-produced Mezcal came to be known as Tequila (just as the grape brandy from the Cognac region in France came to be known simply as Cognac).

Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821. But until the 1870s it was a politically unstable country that experienced frequent changes in government, revolutions, and a disastrous war with the United States. Marauding bands of soldiers and guerillas extracted “revolutionary taxes” and “voluntary” contributions in kind from the tabernas and distilleries. In 1876 a general named Porfirio Deaz, who was from the Mezcal-producing state of Oaxaca, came to power and ushered in a 35-year period of relative peace and stability known as the Porfiriato.

It was during this period that the Tequila industry became firmly established. Modest exports of Tequila began to the United States and Europe, with Jose Cuervo shipping the first three barrels to El Paso, Texas in 1873. By 1910 the number of agave distilleries in the state of Jalisco had grown to almost 100.

The collapse of the Díaz regime in 1910 led to a decade-long period of revolution that inhibited the Tequila industry. The return of peace in the 1920s led to the expansion of Tequila production in Jalisco beyond the area around the town of Tequila, with growth being particularly noteworthy in the highlands around the village of Arandas. This period also saw the adoption of modern production techniques from the wine industry such as the use of cultivated yeast and microbiological sanitary practices.

to be continued…