Bedtime Drink Peril to Snorers

Several shots of liquor or mixed drinks before bedtime can trigger serious breathing problems in otherwise healthy men who snore, researchers reported. A study by the Scripps Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in La Jolla found snorers who drank “moderate” amounts of alcohol within an hour of bedtime had double the normal number of incidents in which breathing stops for at least 10 seconds.

During such a stoppage, called sleep apnea, a person’s blood oxygen level drops, and the heart is prone to rhythm disorders and may in severe cases stop beating.

In a study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the Scripps team gave orange juice with 5 to 6 ounces of vodka shortly before bedtime to each of six healthy middle-aged males who snored but had no other sleep-related complaints. The drinking snorers experienced an average of 10 to 12 of the brief breathing stoppages an hour, compared to about zero to five an hour for non-drinkers, researchers said.