During the Spring Festival reunion, most people will have a few drinks. Ni Zhili, Deputy Chief Physician of the Otolaryngology Department at Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing, suggests that for people who snore, they should avoid drinking alcohol for at least 4 hours before bedtime.
Snoring is caused by decreased activity of the upper airway smooth muscles during sleep, which fails to ensure the patency of the airway, leading to obstruction. Alcohol has a stimulating effect that can deepen sleep, reduce the activity of upper airway muscles, and worsen the degree of airway obstruction. This can easily lead to cerebral hypoxia and cause apnea.
Of course, the way and time alcohol is metabolized in the body varies from person to person depending on their individual constitution. People who easily flush when drinking metabolize most of the alcohol through their bloodstream, while those who do not flush metabolize most of it through their stomach. Therefore, their metabolic and digestive speeds are different. However, metabolism is generally completed within 4 to 6 hours after drinking. Thus, people who snore should ensure they do not drink alcohol within 4 to 6 hours before bedtime.
If you have social obligations in the evening and must drink, you can choose to drink some vinegar-based beverages, such as vinegar-flavored drinks or apple cider vinegar drinks, before bedtime. The acetic acid in the vinegar can effectively neutralize the ethanol in alcohol, helping to sober up.