Although alcohol is a brain sedative and promotes sleep, it actually reduces the amount of quality rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which we need to be fully rested and increases slow wave sleep. Its sedative effect lessens as the night progresses, arousal from sleep and continued wakefulness being likely to occur when the blood alcohol concentration approaches zero. Like other people, the elderly may have recourse to alcohol and prescribed drugs to help them cope with stress, anxiety and depression. However, recent research has suggested that for some people alcohol, even in relatively moderate quantities, actually makes things worse, prolonging rather than reducing the problem
