How Does Alcohol Affect Sleep?

We all have our own ways to relax at the end of a long hard day, of course, but if you’re partial to sitting down with a glass or two of your favourite tipple in hand once the working day is done, you may find that you’re actually sacrificing a good night’s sleep, as a result.

Have you been waking up recently feeling less than refreshed? Are you sleeping lightly and waking up easily during the night? It might well be because of alcohol consumption the night before, with many studies linking drinking with poor sleep quality and duration.

Of course, everything in moderation is generally fine but too little sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis is sure to take its toll sooner rather than later, so limiting the amount you drink each week could help you prevent your sleep debt from mounting up.

When you drink, the alcohol is absorbed into your bloodstream and it’s eventually metabolised by the liver. However, this is a relatively slow process and this means that you’ll continue to have excess alcohol floating around your body, which could have an impact on rest quality when you go to bed.

Drinking before bedtime can suppress your REM sleep and make you fall into a deep sleep quickly, which then creates imbalances between sleep cycles throughout the night. This means you may get more REM sleep and less deep sleep, so your overall sleep quality is diminished… and this can lead to more sleep disruption if you’re not careful.

Something else you might experience if you do drink before bed is sleep apnoea, where you experience abnormal breathing patterns and even temporary loss of breath as you’re asleep. It’s also characterised by loud and disruptive snoring, which can make it even harder to get a good night’s sleep… both for you and anyone you’re sharing a bed with!

If you do want to start sleeping better and think alcohol may be the reason why you’re not getting the rest you need, cutting back is perhaps a good idea so you can rule it out as a possible cause.

Perhaps go a few nights a week without drinking and see how you feel when you wake up. Also stopping drinking alcohol at least four hours before bedtime on the nights you do drink could potentially help you maximise your chances of sleeping well.

If you want to stop drinking altogether, there are little strategies you can employ that can help you make a real success of it. Tell family and friends that this is what you’re planning, so you can share your success stories and stay out of temptation’s way more easily.

Finding new hobbies and interests can also help you steer clear of alcohol, filling the gap you might be feeling at times when you would have had a drink. What could you take up instead?

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