You’ll also probably have more vivid or stressful dreams and — because fitful sleep means that you’re waking up more regularly — you are more likely to remember them. Researchers have found that the sedative effect only lasts for the first part of the night, though. People who consume alcohol before bed don’t wake up as often during the first few hours of sleep. It has a sedative effect that helps you relax and makes you drowsy, so you fall asleep faster. A 2023 study found people with sleep apnea had a higher risk of developing alcohol-related disorders. The researchers theorized that participants may self-medicate their sleep problems with alcohol.
People who wake up feeling unrefreshed may be more likely to rely on alcohol again to help them sleep the next night, leading to a counterproductive pattern of alcohol use. Substantial evidence suggests that alcohol worsens symptoms of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. These sleep-related breathing difficulties occur when soft tissues collapse and block the upper airway.
How Does Alcohol Affect Your Sleep?
However, the researchers proposed that perhaps these effects on the circadian rhythm are only seen after several consecutive days of alcohol consumption. In support of the alcohol-melatonin connection, researchers have noticed that individuals suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal tend to have less pronounced melatonin levels and release. Heavy drinking can make the sleep- and circadian rhythm-disrupting effects of alcohol worse. But even a regular, moderate routine of two to three drinks a day is enough to create sleep and performance problems for many people. For many people who drink moderately, falling asleep more quickly may seem like an advantage of a nightly glass of wine. But alcohol goes on to affect the entire night of sleep to come.
First off, while wine and other alcohols have notorious sedative effects, it’s important to note that these drinks also have calories, which means they give us energy, too. So while alcohol is being processed, before you begin difference between crack and coke to feel a bit drowsy, the calories are being converted to energy. It’s true, sleep may happen more quickly after consuming a drink or two. Alcohol often does reduce sleep onset latency—the time it takes to fall asleep.
Also, research shows that people can develop a tolerance to this boozy method within three nights, causing you to need a larger amount of alcohol to get the same effect. Alcohol has been linked to reduced rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. People who go to bed with alcohol in their system may be more likely to wake early in the morning and not be able to fall back to sleep, another consequence of the rebound effect. So while cutting out drinking will likely benefit your sleep, there may be other factors affecting your shuteye. In general, the more you drink, the more sleep problems you can have. You may also have a hangover to contend with the next morning or the entire following day.
Wine: The Solution To A Good Night’s Sleep?
Drinking to fall asleep can build a tolerance, forcing you to consume more alcohol each successive night in order to experience the sedative effects. You can manage the negative effects of alcohol on sleep by giving your body ample time to metabolize alcohol before falling asleep. To reduce the risk of sleep disruptions, you should stop drinking alcohol at least four hours before bedtime. Alcohol may also exert some of its effects on sleep by influencing the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is responsible for keeping the body anchored to a 24-hour cycle. As part of this 24-hour cycle, the body releases a hormone called melatonin to prepare us for sleep in the evening.
- Depending on how much you drink and how close to bedtime you drink it, alcohol can mess with your sleep in a number of ways.
- People with sleep apnea are also prone to loud, disruptive snoring.
- The homeostatic drive is responsible for keeping our body balanced, and it’s one of the major mechanisms that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.
- Although consuming alcohol before bedtime helps you fall asleep faster, the popular beverage negatively affects overall sleep quality.
- This can also happen if you drink alcohol with caffeine (think espresso martinis or vodka Red Bulls) or with a lot of sugar (i.e. sugary cocktails or energy drinks).
As the night progresses, this can create an imbalance between slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, resulting in less of the latter and more of the former. This imbalance decreases overall sleep quality, which can result in shorter sleep duration and more sleep disruptions. Alcohol can also sometimes act as a stimulant, making you feel more awake instead of sleepy. This can happen with low doses, when your blood alcohol levels are rising, and when you drink alcohol at different times of the day. This can also happen if you drink alcohol with caffeine (think espresso martinis or vodka Red Bulls) or with a lot of sugar (i.e. sugary cocktails or energy drinks).
Night Eating Syndrome
Alcohol has sedative effects that can induce feelings of relaxation and sleepiness, but the consumption of alcohol — especially in excess — has been linked to poor sleep quality and duration. People with alcohol use disorders commonly experience insomnia symptoms. Studies have shown that alcohol use can exacerbate the symptoms of sleep apnea. For a good night’s sleep, non-alcoholic drinks are your best bet. Research shows drinking one non-alcoholic beer with dinner can improve subjective sleep quality and decrease how long it takes to fall asleep. Alcohol is a muscle relaxant, so consuming alcohol at bedtime can make a person more prone to experience a blocked airway.
You may also wake up more often in the second half of the night, get less sleep in total, and develop sleep disorders, resulting in worse sleep overall — not better. Those who suffer from sleep disturbances due to restless leg syndrome (RLS) are often recommended to increase magnesium consumption. For a natural boost, consider eating more green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, meats, poultry, and fish, as they are all rich in this micronutrient. In general, maintaining a well-balanced diet, with an emphasis on lean proteins and diverse plant foods, can go a long way to enhancing your sleep, night-to-night. So while, yes, that glass of wine can enhance your sleep on occasion, remember that it’s certainly not a long-term solution to ongoing sleep troubles and can, in fact, exacerbate the issue. Before reaching for that glass, hear from the experts how alcohol before bed might affect your sleep.
As a result, alcohol’s impact on sleep largely depends on the individual. His research and clinical practice focuses on the entire myriad of sleep disorders. Although there’s no evidence that alcohol can cause narcolepsy (sleepwalking), it does disrupt REM sleep, which may make the onset of sleepwalking more likely.
First, alcohol affects everyone differently because of a slew of factors, like age, biological sex, and body composition, just to name a few. Alcohol before bed has been shown to lead to fragmented sleep and frequent waking. If you turn to booze to help you snooze, you could be messing with the quality of your sleep. Based on your answers, we will calculate your freeSleep Foundation Score™and create a personalized sleep profile that includes sleep-improving products and education curated justfor you.
We’ve covered more on how long before bed you should stop drinking alcohol here. Alcohol has biphasic effects, meaning some of its impacts have two phases, such as stimulating and sedating. For example, research shows high doses of alcohol may decrease your blood pressure for up to 12 hours and then increase your blood 15+ pro tips on how to pass a marijuana drug test asap pressure after that. For most people, alcohol induces a deeper-than-usual sleep in the first half of the night, followed by disrupted sleep in the second half of the night. If you’re planning on heading out for a night that will involve some drinks, there are some things you can do to help you sleep afterward.
For an expert’s take, we spoke to Rise Science sleep advisor and medical reviewer Dr. Chester Wu, who is double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. Creating a profile allows you to save your sleep scores, get personalized advice, and access exclusive deals. Studies have found conflicting information about how alcohol affects REM sleep. Alcohol appears to consistently delay the first REM sleep episode, and higher doses of alcohol appear to reduce the total amount of REM sleep.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you build up sleep debt and this can tank your energy levels. You fall asleep when you drink alcohol because, in certain situations, alcohol acts as a sedative. Having the occasional nightcap to unwind is no biggie and may help you fall asleep faster. The liver acts as a filtering system for the body, helping eye color may be linked to alcohol dependence metabolize food and chemicals (including alcohol itself), and pulling toxins from the bloodstream. Like nearly all of the body’s organs, the liver functions according to circadian rhythms. Alcohol interferes with these circadian rhythms regulating the liver, and can contribute to compromised liver function, liver toxicity, and disease.
Older studies have found that drinking alcohol before bedtime lowers melatonin levels and interferes with core body temperatures, which in turn impacts sleep quality. Alcohol is highly effective at suppressing melatonin, a key facilitator of sleep and regulator of sleep-wake cycles. Research indicates that a moderate dose of alcohol up to an hour before bedtime can reduce melatonin production by nearly 20 percent. Alcohol has a direct effect on circadian rhythms, diminishing the ability of the master biological clock to respond to the light cues that keep it in sync. Those effects of alcohol on the biological clock appear to persist even without additional drinking, according to research.
How Do You Get Good Sleep After Drinking?
That’s right, the traditional “happy hour” time is actually when the body is most prepared to process that cocktail. If that mimosa with brunch hits you particularly hard, it may be the result of circadian timing. Alcohol may make you fall asleep initially, but it is definitely not a viable sleep aid.
