Wednesday Facts: you didn't know this yet

It's Wednesday again, and then you know. Or not. That's why we make the Wednesday Facts. Hoping to surprise you with facts about alcohol you didn't know about.

Alcohol can lead to bedwetting.

Oh, how nice it was yesterday and oh, how wet the bed was this morning. That pee accident is entirely due to the alcohol. There are two reasons for this:

1. Alcohol inhibits the diuretic hormone that prevents frequent urination. This gives alcohol a diuretic effect and you have to urinate a lot after a heavy drinking.
2. Alcohol acts as a muscle relaxant. Getting up from a chair and walking for a while can become impossible tasks. If you really make it fur, the sphincter muscles around your bladder and anus also relax. This can cause bed wetting.

What to do, we hear you think. That is not difficult: drink less or no alcohol.

Alcohol is not a good nightcap.

It seems so, but it isn't. That nightcap or nightcap may help you fall asleep faster, but it won't do your sleep any good. Drinking alcohol before going to sleep increases deep sleep and decreases the amount of dream sleep.

Drinking alcohol also has an effect on the order of your sleep cycle. Alcohol causes the first deep sleep (REM sleep) to be brought to the fore. This means that you dream earlier and the brain has to process all the information and impressions of that day faster. The second part of the night, REM sleep takes place much later, overloading the brain. Because the deep sleep does not take place proportionally, sleeping problems occur. Such as sleepwalking, talking in your sleep and sleep apnea. In addition, there is an increased risk of intense dreams or nightmares.

Do you need alternatives to the nightcap? then click here.

Alcohol has an effect on muscle building.

The third half is famous and infamous. After your effort, that fresh wine or cooling beer beckons. But that doesn't help your muscles. Alcohol contains two metabolites that have a direct inhibitory effect on muscle tissue. In addition, alcohol has an inhibitory effect on the attachment of testosterone to muscle protein. The good news is that your muscle building will usually resume within 24 hours of drinking your last glass of alcohol.

Source: alcoholinfo.nl.

Alcohol is harmful to the brain.

And whether that is so. Even moderate drinking is already harmful to the brain. Previous studies have already shown that excessive use can damage health. A British study shows that moderate alcohol consumption also has an effect on the structure of the brain. It affects the quality of the so-called 'grey matter' in the brain, which has the function of processing information. The more alcohol you drink per week, the smaller the volume of that gray matter becomes. Alcohol also appears to affect the 'white matter' of the brain. This contains the extensions of nerve cells, and is in fact 'the wiring' of the brain. If the quality of this decreases, your cognitive functioning will deteriorate.