Some people have asked about scientific references. It is something I’ve given thought to many times. I can see the benefit of having them but I don’t want to clutter up the text (bearing in mind some people reading it may be a quite a bad way), and scientific studies themselves are always open to criticism (for every study ‘proving’ one thing, there will be another proving the direct opposite). However the big thing for me is that the book works best when people think and apply what I say to their own experiences. When I say drinking ruins sleep and even if you are in bed for 10 hours you still get up exhausted, or that the withdrawal builds up even while drinking so you can be very drunk but still desperately want another drink, the thing that makes it powerful is that people have experienced exactly that; my writing it draws it out of that category of our experiences that hover outside our conscious appreciation. It draws out things we are aware of, but not on a conscious level. Putting references in almost defeats the point of the writing. If I say something that doesn’t resonate with the reader in quite a deep level, I don’t think that putting a reference in would correct that.
The other thing of course is that much of what I have written is my own conclusions; I am not aware that anyone has drawn them before. An example is my differentiating between the physical intoxication and the mental relaxation. The other example is that I can reference that alcohol is a depressant, that the brain has its own supply of drugs and hormones, that it seeks to maintain balance, and that heavy drinkers have increased levels of naturally occurring stimulants, but as far as I am aware no one else has used this to drawn the conclusions I have reached about the brain compensating for the depressive effects of the alcohol and this resulting in the withdrawal. Much of the book are my conclusions based on my own experiences and observations. The problem then is with putting references in, some chapters would be heavily littered with them, other chapters will be virtually free of them. I think that that in itself would be odd and even distracting.
As a compromise I am going to add references to this section of the website, so that those who are interested can access the references here.
Please bear with me as this is a work in progress and is not high on my ever expanding list of priorities. If there is a specific area you want more information on please drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ section of the website.
Chapter 2 – The Physiological Effects of Drinking
A. K. Rose, S. G. Shaw, M. A. Prendergast and H. J. Little. The Importance of Glucocorticoids in Alcohol Dependence and Neurotoxicity. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, 7 SEP 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01298.x
Roberto, M., Cruz, M.T., Gilpin, N.W., et al. Corticotropin Releasing Factor-Induced Amygdala Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Release Plays a Key Role in Alcohol Dependence. Biological Psychiatry. 2010 Jan 6.
Chapter 6 – Alcohol and Sleep
WILLIAMS, D.L.; MACLEAN, A.W.; AND CAIRNS, J. Dose-response effects of ethanol of the sleep of young women. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 44(3): 515-523, 1983.
ROEHRS, T.; YOON, J.; AND ROTH T. Nocturnal and next-day effects of ethanol and basal level of sleepiness. Human Psychopharmacology 6:307-311, 1991.
WILLIAMS, H., AND SALAMY, A. Alcohol and sleep. In: Kissin, B., and Begleiter, H., eds. The Biology of Alcoholism. New York: Plenum Press, 1972.
ROEHRS, T.; PAPINEAU, K.; ROSENTHAL, L.; AND ROTH, T. Ethanol as a hypnotic in insomniacs: Self administration and effects of sleep and mood. Neuropsychopharmacology 20:279-286, 1999.
