The negative health consequences of alcohol are numerous. From more alarming outcomes such as cancer to more "cosmetic" inconveniences such as premature signs of aging, alcoholic beverages seem to hide a range of toxic effects that can slowly take a toll on our health.

Most of us probably think that unless someone has alcohol dependency or drinks heavily, they're out of alcohol's negative reach. But more and more studies are pointing to a different conclusion.

A recent study reported by Medical News Today, for example, suggested that just one drink can shorten our lifespan. The jury's still out on whether drinking in moderation is good for you, but some studies have suggested that even light drinkers are at risk of cancer due to their alcohol intake.

A new study, carried out by Finnish-based researchers, adds to these dire prospects. Julia Pietilä, a researcher at the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering at Tampere University of Technology in Finland, is the first author of the paper, which was published in the journal JMIR Mental Health.

Studying alcohol and sleep quality

The fact that the study used real-life information makes it unique. Pietilä and colleagues examined data from 4,098 men and women aged between 18 and 65, whose heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded in uncontrolled, real-world conditions using a special device.

As the authors write, "The association between acute alcohol intake and physiological changes has not yet been studied in noncontrolled real-world settings."

The scientists had access to sleep HRV recordings from a minimum of 2 nights: one where the participants had consumed alcohol and one where they hadn't.

HRV measures the variations in time between heartbeats, variations which are regulated by the autonomic nervous system.

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