The Nightcap Paradox
You feel it almost immediately, that warm loosening after a glass of wine, the way your shoulders drop, the way the day’s noise recedes. It feels like relaxation. It looks like relaxation. But underneath the calm, your autonomic nervous system is telling a very different story. Alcohol doesn’t quiet your body. It sedates one layer while activating another and the cost shows up at 3 a.m.