Alcohol ingestion does not cause sleep-disordered breathing in premenopausal women.

Ingestion of 2 ml/kg of 100 proof vodka before bedtime did not cause sleep-disordered breathing or nocturnal oxygen desaturation in 20 premenopausal women. These findings are opposite to the results of earlier studies of men, in which ingestion of the same amount of alcohol significantly increased these findings. Protection of young women from sleep-disordered breathing or oxygen desaturation may be related to the respiratory stimulant effects of circulating progesterone.