question: Why does alcohol make me awake and nicotine make me sleepy even though alcohol is a depressant and nicotine is a stimulant?
comment: Alcohol although a depressant, spikes your blood sugar which gives you energy. Consuming nicotine reduces anxiety making it easier to fall asleep.
passages: Nicotine reduces the amount of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, slow-wave sleep (SWS), and total sleep time in healthy nonsmokers given nicotine via a transdermal patch, and the reduction is dose-dependent. Acute nicotine intoxication has been found to significantly reduce total sleep time and increase REM latency, sleep onset latency, and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 2 sleep time.
  
  Section::::Adverse effects.:Cardiovascular system.
   Since Hank couldn’t smoke when he was singing he liked Lum to stand next to him to play. Lum would light up a cigarette, take a draw, and start playing, then Hank would take the cigarette and finish it. Lum commented, "I was lighting a half a pack of cigs a night and hardly getting a smoke. I told Hank to leave my cigs alone, but as usual, he did the same thing and I kicked his hand. He went ahead and smoked it and grinned. However, I don’t recall him smoking another one of my cigs."
   Ethanol is used as an anxiolytic, sometimes by self-medication. fMRI can measure the anxiolytic effects of alcohol in the human brain. The British National Formulary states, "Alcohol is a poor hypnotic because its diuretic action interferes with sleep during the latter part of the night." Alcohol is also known to induce alcohol-related sleep disorders.
  
  Section::::Medications.:Miscellaneous.:Inhalants.
  
  The anxiolytic effects of solvents act as positive modulators of GABAA receptors (Bowen and colleagues 2006).
  
  Section::::Alternatives to medication.
   An alcoholic drink or nightcap is a long-standing folk method which will induce sleep, as alcohol is a sedative. However, when the alcohol blood level subsides, there is a rebound effect: the person becomes more alert and so tends to wake up too soon. Also, if they continue to sleep, REM sleep is promoted, and this may cause vivid nightmares which can reduce the quality of the sleep.
  
  Section::::Food and drink.:Warm milk.
   In many respects, nicotine acts on the nervous system in a similar way to caffeine. Some writings have stated that smoking can also increase mental concentration; one study documents a significantly better performance on the normed Advanced Raven Progressive Matrices test after smoking.
   Low doses of alcohol (one beer) appear to increase total sleep time and reduce awakening during the night. The sleep-promoting benefits of alcohol dissipate at moderate and higher doses of alcohol. Previous experience with alcohol also influences the extent to which alcohol positively or negatively affects sleep. Under free-choice conditions, in which subjects chose between drinking alcohol or water, inexperienced drinkers were sedated while experienced drinkers were stimulated following alcohol consumption. In insomniacs, moderate doses of alcohol improve sleep maintenance.
   Low doses of alcohol (one 360.0 ml (13 imp fl oz; 12 US fl oz) beer) are sleep-promoting by increasing total sleep time and reducing awakenings during the night. The sleep-promoting benefits of alcohol dissipate at moderate and higher doses of alcohol (two 12 oz. beers and three 12 oz. beers, respectively). Previous experience with alcohol also determines whether or not alcohol is a "sleep promoter" or "sleep disrupter." Under free-choice conditions, in which subjects chose between drinking alcohol or water, inexperienced drinkers were sedated while experienced drinkers were stimulated following alcohol consumption. In insomniacs, moderate doses of alcohol improve sleep maintenance.
   Sharper peaks in blood nicotine levels from inhalation causes greater nicotine dependence than oral consumption. Nicotine replacement products, for instance, deliver nicotine in a slow, stable manner, and are thus less addictive. Inhaling nicotine reaches the blood quicker than oral consumption. Blood nicotine levels drop fairly quickly, halving every 1 to 2 hours. Nicotine withdrawal causes deteriorating mood, driving craving for nicotine consumption.
  
  Section::::Health effects.:Pregnancy.
   Some smokers argue that the depressant effect of smoking allows them to calm their nerves, often allowing for increased concentration. However, according to the Imperial College London, "Nicotine seems to provide both a stimulant and a depressant effect, and it is likely that the effect it has at any time is determined by the mood of the user, the environment and the circumstances of use. Studies have suggested that low doses have a depressant effect, while higher doses have stimulant effect."
  
  Section::::Psychology.:Patterns.
   BULLET::::- GIRK channel opener
  
  Some of the actions of ethanol on ligand-gated ion channels, specifically the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and the glycine receptor, are dose-dependent, with potentiation "or" inhibition occurring dependent on ethanol concentration. This seems to be because the effects of ethanol on these channels are a summation of positive and negative allosteric modulatory actions.
  
  Section::::Pharmacology.:Pharmacokinetics.
  
  Section::::Pharmacology.:Pharmacokinetics.:Absorption.
   BULLET::::- In a 1997 of "Friends", "The One with the Hypnosis Tape", Chandler borrows from Rachel a smoking-cessation audiocassette, to which he listens while he is asleep. The tape tells him that he is "a strong, confident woman" who does not need to smoke. He stops smoking, but also begins acting effeminately.
   Contrary to popular belief, research suggests that acute exposure to alcohol is not neurotoxic in adults and actually prevents NMDA antagonist-induced neurotoxicity.
  
  Section::::Alcohol and Sleep.
   Section::::Drug design.
   Section::::Effects by dosage.:Moderate doses.
  
  Ethanol inhibits the ability of glutamate to open the cation channel associated with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subtype of glutamate receptors. Stimulated areas include the cortex, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens, which are all responsible for both thinking and pleasure seeking. Another one of alcohol's agreeable effects is body relaxation, which is possibly caused by neurons transmitting electrical signals in an alpha waves-pattern; such waves are actually observed (with the aid of EEGs) whenever the body is relaxed.
   Section::::Receptors.:Ionotropic receptors.:Nicotinic ACh receptors.
  
  Nicotinic receptors bind the acetylcholine (ACh) neurotransmitter to produce non-selective cation channel flow that generates excitatory postsynaptic responses. Receptor activity, which can be influenced by nicotine consumption, produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and inevitably addiction in high levels.
  
  Section::::Receptors.:Metabotropic receptors.
   The increase in glutamine levels stimulates the brain while the drinker is trying to sleep, keeping him/her from reaching the deepest levels of sleep. Stopping chronic alcohol use can also lead to severe insomnia with vivid dreams. During withdrawal REM sleep is typically exaggerated as part of a rebound effect.
  
  Section::::Causes.:Substance-induced.:Benzodiazepine-induced.
   Section::::Drug design.:Pharmacophore.
   Alcohol is a depressant, the effects of which may vary according to dosage amount, frequency, and chronicity. As a member of the sedative-hypnotic class, at the lowest doses, the individual feels relaxed and less anxious. In quiet settings, the user may feel drowsy, but in settings with increased sensory stimulation, individuals may feel uninhibited and more confident. High doses of alcohol rapidly consumed may produce amnesia for the events that occur during intoxication. Other effects include reduced coordination, which leads to slurred speech, impaired fine-motor skills, and delayed reaction time. The effects of alcohol on the body’s neurochemistry are more difficult to examine than some other drugs. This is because the chemical nature of the substance makes it easy to penetrate into the brain, and it also influences the phospholipid bilayer of neurons. This allows alcohol to have a widespread impact on many normal cell functions and modifies the actions of several neurotransmitter systems. Alcohol inhibits glutamate (a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system) neurotransmission by reducing the effectiveness at the NMDA receptor, which is related to memory loss associated with intoxication. It also modulates the function of GABA, a major inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter. The reinforcing qualities of alcohol leading to repeated use – and thus also the mechanisms of withdrawal from chronic alcohol use – are partially due to the substance’s action on the dopamine system. This is also due to alcohol’s effect on the opioid systems, or endorphins, that have opiate-like effects, such as modulating pain, mood, feeding, reinforcement, and response to stress.
   Caffeine is the most widely used alerting drug in the world and has been shown to improve alertness in simulated night work. Caffeine and naps before a night shift reduces sleepiness during the shift. Modafinil and armodafinil are non-amphetamine alerting drugs originally developed for the treatment of narcolepsy that have been approved by the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) for excessive sleepiness associated with SWSD.
  
  Section::::Treatment.:Medications that promote daytime sleep.
   The use of cocaine or an amphetamine with cigarettes can result in chain smoking. Many people chain-smoke when drinking alcoholic beverages, because alcohol potentiates nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, leading to re-sensitization and hence inducing a craving.
  
  The extent to which chain smoking is driven by nicotine dependence has been studied. It does not seem that the amount of nicotine delivered is a significant factor, as the puff volume correlates poorly with the frequency of cigarette consumption.
  
  Section::::Clinical use.
   Glucuronidation and oxidative metabolism of nicotine to cotinine are both inhibited by menthol, an additive to mentholated cigarettes, thus increasing the half-life of nicotine "in vivo".
  
  Section::::Chemistry.
   The long-term use of benzodiazepines may have a similar effect on the brain as alcohol, and are also implicated in depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mania, psychosis, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, delirium, and neurocognitive disorders (including benzodiazepine-induced persisting dementia which persists even after the medications are stopped). As with alcohol, the effects of benzodiazepine on neurochemistry, such as decreased levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, are believed to be responsible for their effects on mood and anxiety. Additionally, benzodiazepines can indirectly cause or worsen other psychiatric symptoms (e.g., mood, anxiety, psychosis, irritability) by worsening sleep (i.e., benzodiazepine-induced sleep disorder). Like alcohol, benzodiazepines are commonly used to treat insomnia in the short-term (both prescribed and self-medicated), but worsen sleep in the long-term. While benzodiazepines can put people to sleep but, while asleep, the drugs disrupt sleep architecture: decreasing sleep time, delaying time to REM sleep, and decreasing deep slow-wave sleep (the most restorative part of sleep for both energy and mood).
   Section::::Drug design.:Structure-activity relationships.:Structure-activity relationships: α7 nAChR agonists.
   RCA country music performers Bud Brewer and Gary Stewart both released versions of the song "Caffeine, Nicotine, Benzedrine (and Wish Me Luck)" in 1975. Brewer's version appears on his album "Big Bertha, The Truck Driving Queen" while Stewart's rendition appears on his album "You're Not The Woman You Used To Be." The song, written by Bill Hayes, Betty Mackey and Bill Howard, is sung from the perspective of a truck driver struggling to stay awake on the road. Jerry Reed, also a country artist signed to RCA, covered the song on his 1980 album "Texas Bound and Flyin'.
   The active substances in tobacco, especially cigarettes, are administered by burning the leaves and inhaling the vaporized gas that results. This quickly and effectively delivers substances into the bloodstream by absorption through the alveoli in the lungs. The lungs contain some 300 million alveoli, which amounts to a surface area of over 70 m (about the size of a tennis court). This method is not completely efficient as not all of the smoke will be inhaled, and some amount of the active substances will be lost in the process of combustion, pyrolysis. Pipe and Cigar smoke are not inhaled because of its high alkalinity, which are irritating to the trachea and lungs. However, because of its higher alkalinity (pH 8.5) compared to cigarette smoke (pH 5.3), non-ionized nicotine is more readily absorbed through the mucous membranes in the mouth. Nicotine absorption from cigar and pipe, however, is much less than that from cigarette smoke. Nicotine and cocaine activate similar patterns of neurons, which supports the existence of common substrates among these drugs.
  
presuppositions: Alcohol should make you sleep and nicotine should wake you up. Depressants should cause people to feel calmer.
corrections: Alcohol spikes your blood sugar and nicotine reduces anxiety. These have the opposite effects.  Depressants can still provide energy if they spike your blood sugar.
raw_presuppositions: Alcohol should make you sleep and nicotine should wake you up. Depressants should cause people to feel calmer.
raw_corrections: Alcohol spikes your blood sugar and nicotine reduces anxiety. These have the opposite effects.  Depressants can still provide energy if they spike your blood sugar.