Brown University researchers reported that women who consumed two or three alcoholic drinks within an hour of bedtime experienced more intense sleep, UPI reported Aug. 21.

Researchers at the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory and Brown University Medical School gave women vodka tonics and then observed their sleep patterns. The intensive sleeping episodes occurred within the first few hours after falling asleep.

"Whether this sleep pattern is beneficial or harmful is unknown at this point," said study author Eliza Van Reen. "Although it may signal an initial consolidation of sleep, it might also be associated with difficulty waking in the event of an emergent problem, such as a fire or medical emergency."

The research appears in the June 2006 issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.