Sleep experts say even if alcohol helps you fall asleep faster, your quality of sleep is compromised, especially when you drink during bedtime.

The study was conducted at the University of Melbourne and demonstrated how brainwave patterns become disturbed if alcohol's present in the body system before a person goes to sleep.

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 Alcohol produces irregular and incomplete sleep cycles where the body and brain suffer. It also makes it difficult to obtain an optimal amount of rest and rejuvenation during sleep.

Christian Nicholas and his team studied 24 healthy adults between 18 to 21 years old who drank less than seven drinks every week in a month. The test subjects had a series of electrodes attached to their heads that measured their brainwaves during sleep.

They were first given a nightcap that consisted of orange juice and vodka, and after this, a placebo of just orange juice that included a straw laced with vodka.

When observing the brain waves of their sleeping test subjects, researchers discovered their brains couldn't cycle normal delta wave activity while asleep. This means their alpha wave patterns are active, which only happens when a person is resting but still awake.

Experts said alpha waves trigger the body's ability to restore itself especially during a sleep state.

What's more interesting is that the brain patterns of the participants show brainwaves similar to someone who is sleeping in pain or someone given electric shocks when they're asleep.

Nicholas advises those who want a good night's sleep to avoid alcohol just before sleeping as it isn't an effective sleep aid. The quality of sleep alcohol can induce ultimately becomes disrupted and changed.

This study was published in the February 2015 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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