1
$\begingroup$

It is a popular belief that when you get asleep after drinking alcohol, in the morning you have higher level in your blood than if you stayed awake the whole night.

  1. Is this true?

  2. If so, why? Is it because the liver works more slowly while sleeping, or because the intestines work more slowly and there is still more alcohol in the morning to be processed by the liver?

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I never heard of that. That'd be great if you could provide a link to prove that it is a noticeable claim? Note that your question would also be on-topic on Skeptics.SE. $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Dec 27, 2015 at 19:08
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ @HonzaZidek agree with comment above - this is a flawed question - alcohol is not purged more slowly when you sleep and you don't wake up with more alcohol in the morning - check out zero order kinetics if you want to learn more about alcohol metabolism $\endgroup$ Dec 27, 2015 at 21:13

1 Answer 1

1
$\begingroup$

You are right, Culprit is Ethanol in Alcohol. It contains 2 carbon atoms, 6 Hydrogen atoms and 1 Oxygen atom.

Ethanol is readily soluble in water, so it easily dissolves in the bloodstream and gets carried to various parts of the body. The most affected areas of the body include the liver and the brain. In the brain, ethanol adversely affects Glutamate receptors, which causes slurred speech, memory loss, slow reaction to stimuli, and other common side effects of being a bit too tipsy.

Not only this, ethanol molecules bind with GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors, which is able to slow down the activity of brain. Unlike glutamate receptors, ethanol actually makes GABA receptors more receptive, causing the brain to slow down even further. However, alcohol doesn’t just act to slow everything down in the body. It also stimulates the production of dopamine and endorphins, chemicals that produce feelings of pleasure. This is the reason why people choose to get that alcohol “high”, despite knowing the negative consequences that it may lead to.

So basically when you are physically working body needs more oxygen while Ethanol only has one oxygen atom, and Since Liver starts to work on regular pace, Which plays a central role in all metabolic processes in the body.

Everyone's oxygen levels in the blood are lower during sleep , in fact while sleeping or in meditation body needs very less oxygen to survive.

Why would I need to wear oxygen while sleeping?

Everyone's oxygen levels in the blood are lower during sleep, due to a mildly reduced level of breathing. Also, some alveoli drop out of use during sleep.

If your waking oxygen saturation is greater than about 94 percent on room air, it is unlikely that your saturation during sleep will fall below 88 percent. However, your doctor can order an overnight oximetry test if there is a question about your oxygen saturation levels while you are sleeping.

In general, metabolic rate is higher when you are awake, because then you tend to be moving about doing stuff.

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to Biology. This answer just touches the question. Further, sources are lacking and this is mandatory when quoting stretches of text $\endgroup$
    – AliceD
    Apr 10, 2017 at 6:51
  • $\begingroup$ @AliceD Thanks, I will get better if you give me a few more chances. $\endgroup$
    – Ritesh.mlk
    Apr 10, 2017 at 7:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .