A nightcap doesn’t help you sleep well

Alcohol is a poor nightcap and robs sleep of its restorative powers, the latest research has shown.

A study of ten male university students found late drinking had effects on the nervous system that promoted sleepless nights and exhaustion.

Participants were given a series of alcoholic drinks of different strengths at three-week intervals.

Study leader Dr Yohei Sagawa, from Akita University School of Medicine in Japan, writing in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, said: “Although the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looks good on the EEG, the result of the assessment regarding the autonomic nerve system shows that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep.”