How does alcohol affect your sleep?

If a person chooses to consume alcohol, drinking in moderation several hours before bed is the best practice for avoiding sleep disturbances. Individuals living with AUD experience much poorer sleep quality than those who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. They experience limited REM sleep, which can affect their health. 2020 research suggests that alcohol impacts the part of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM).

And we quickly build a tolerance for the sedative effects of alcohol, which means you may need to drink more to have the same initial sleep-inducing effects. Insomnia from alcohol use is pretty common, and studies have shown that anywhere from 36% to 91% of those who are alcohol dependent will struggle with sleep disturbances or insomnia. This is all due to how alcohol impacts your sleep cycles, along with its other physical and mental health effects. Though alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, it can disrupt the important REM stage of your sleep cycle, leading to lack of sleep or sleep disorders like insomnia. Though alcohol can have a sedative effect, it has also been linked to sleep disorders like insomnia.

The Link Between Sleep Apnea and Depression, Anxiety, and Mood

Some studies have reported a mild withdrawal syndrome persisting after the cessation of an acute withdrawal phase. Its main features include, mood disturbance, alcohol craving and sleep related disturbances, and they may persist for about 5 weeks (Alling et al., 1982). Many people often wake up a few times in the middle of the night without knowing and can’t enjoy a normal sleep routine. Sleep apnea is a common disorder where the airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep. While alcohol can help you fall asleep, it does not help you stay asleep during the later hours of the night.

During the final hours of sleep when alcohol is metabolized by the body, it can have a disruptive effect on sleep, causing frequent waking and fragmented sleep. Ultimately, alcohol can decrease the amount and quality of sleep you get. Alcohol may be consumed in beer, wine, and hard liquors like vodka, rum, gin, and whiskey. It is more often consumed at night, also called a nightcap, and may negatively affect your sleep.

Is Alcohol Abuse More Prevalent Among Insomnia Sufferers?

Sleep problems also contribute to irritability, anxiety, and depression, which can seriously impact those in recovery. In the first half of the night, when the body is metabolizing alcohol, studies show people spend more time in deep, slow-wave sleep and less time in REM sleep. REM sleep, which gets shortchanged in the first half of the night under the influence of alcohol, is important for mental restoration, including memory and emotional processing. The study controlled for seasonal variations in alcohol use, such as people’s tendency to drink more during the winter holidays and summer months. Rehab centers strive to safely and effectively support individuals as they detox from alcohol. Treatment for alcohol withdrawal insomnia often involves a combination of therapy, lifestyle changes and choosing a medication for alcoholism.

Having a nightcap to top off your day can seem helpful—at least at first—because alcohol has a way of making you feel calm, drowsy, and at ease. But its effects can backfire as your body moves through its later sleep stages, making you feel tired and sleep-deprived in the long run. Sleep problems are common during this phase and may be prevalent in about 65% of individuals during this phase (Brower et al., 2001a, Kolla et al., 2014).

Sign up for our Healthy Living Newsletter!

“It can be very eye-opening to appreciate how much alcohol affects your sleep,” she said. A lot of people who think they have insomnia, she said, may just be drinking too much or too close to bedtime. But even if you thud into dreamland, there’s a good chance that too much alcohol will mean a fitful night of sleep. That’s because alcohol disrupts what’s known as your sleep architecture, the normal phases of deeper and lighter sleep we go through every night.

For example, those who are sensitive to alcohol might get a rough night of sleep after only one or two cocktails. Conversely, someone else could alcohol insomnia sleep soundly even after several shots. At any rate, a regular nighttime drinking habit will increase your odds of poor-quality sleep over time.

The relationship between the two disorders is complicated and closely linked. Insomnia occurs when a person has sleep difficulties such as falling or staying asleep. The key is to drink in moderation and give yourself time before going to bed so the alcohol can clear your system.

• Take our short alcohol quiz to learn where you fall on the drinking spectrum and if you might benefit from quitting or cutting back on alcohol.
• There are two different states of sleep which your body goes through each night.
• We also discuss the possible negative effects of alcohol on the body and sleep.
• These findings contrast with lack of REM sleep abnormalities reported in 2 other studies, as compared to healthy control subjects (Williams and Rundell, 1981, Schiavi et al., 1995).

Your brain spends more time in this stage of sleep than in other stages. At the beginning of the NREM cycle, within seconds to just a few minutes after nodding off, alpha and theta brain waves cause eye movement to slow down. This is a stage of light sleep where the individual can be easily woken. As an extended care treatment facility, Midwest Recovery Centers serves to provide intensive recovery treatment for alcohol addiction as well as other life problems. Contact us today to see how we can help you or your loved one begin recovery. There are also several steps you can take to improve your quality of sleep and quality of life.