Exploring the use of alcohol-interactive prescription medication among US drinkers

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• Exploring the use of alcohol-interactive prescription medication among US drinkers
• Adolescents who sleep poorly, insufficiently may develop alcohol, drug problems
• Genes, environment contribute to personal, peer drinking during adolescence and beyond
• Pre-sleep drinking disrupts sleep
• Atmospheric rivers, cloud-creating aerosol particles, and california reservoirs

Exploring the use of alcohol-interactive prescription medication among US drinkers Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:43 AM PST Approximately 71 percent of American adults drink alcohol. While alcohol interacts negatively with a number of commonly prescribed medications, little is known on a population level about the use of alcohol-interactive prescription medication among US drinkers. A new study has found that almost 42 percent of drinkers in the US population have used one or more alcohol-interactive prescription medications.

Adolescents who sleep poorly, insufficiently may develop alcohol, drug problems Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:43 AM PST Sleep difficulties and insufficient sleep are common among American youth. New research has found that sleep difficulties can predict specific substance-related problems.Problems include binge drinking, driving under the influence of alcohol, and risky sexual behavior.

Genes, environment contribute to personal, peer drinking during adolescence and beyond Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:43 AM PST Alcohol use typically begins during adolescence, in social settings, and is influenced by peer drinking. New findings indicate that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the correlation between one's own drinking and peer drinking.The influence of genetic factors increases as an individual moves from adolescence into adulthood.

Pre-sleep drinking disrupts sleep Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:43 AM PST For individuals who drink before sleeping, alcohol initially acts as a sedative -- marked by the delta frequency electroencephalogram (EEG) activity of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) -- but is later associated with sleep disruption. A study of the effects of alcohol on sleep EEG power spectra in college students has found that pre-sleep drinking not only causes an initial increase in SWS-related delta power but also causes an increase in frontal alpha power, which is thought to reflect disturbed sleep.

Atmospheric rivers, cloud-creating aerosol particles, and california reservoirs Posted: 17 Jan 2015 07:42 AM PST In the midst of the California rainy season, scientists are embarking on a field campaign designed to improve the understanding of the natural and human-caused phenomena that determine when and how the state gets its precipitation. They will do so by studying atmospheric rivers, meteorological events that include the famous rainmaker known as the Pineapple Express.