Understanding the effects of alcohol on sleep is the first step toward preventing alcohol-related sleep problems. Over time, poor quality sleep can have a negative influence on many different aspects of your life, including your long-term health. If you’re experiencing sleeping issues, whether related to alcohol consumption or not, consider talking to your health care provider or a sleep specialist. 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. Depending on how much alcohol is consumed, however, what seems like falling asleep may be something closer to passing out.
Why Does Alcohol Make Me Sleepy? Exploring the Science Behind Drowsiness
According to one study, about 25% of people who drink to intoxication don’t have hangovers at all. If you drink, practice moderation and prioritize your health with strategies like staying hydrated and maintaining good sleep hygiene to minimize the negative effects on your sleep. Avoiding alcohol altogether is recommended for a truly restful and restorative night’s sleep.
Be a sleep-smart drinker.
People who abuse alcohol long-term don’t seem to display the deep recovery sleep that most people show after sleep deprivation, suggesting that the homeostatic drive is no longer functioning as it should. Alcohol potentially causes a shorter overall sleep time and disrupted sleep, which lead to next-day fatigue and sleepiness. The more alcohol you drink, the greater the negative effects on your sleep. Keep in mind that for people with AUD, sleeping issues may persist through the withdrawal phase. Researchers from a 2020 study concluded that those with AUD need at least 5–9 months of abstaining from drinking in order to normalize their sleep duration and rhythm, so try to be patient with yourself during this time.
Circadian Rhythm Disruptions
- “Your hangover is going to be different from everyone else you know,” he says.
- They can last 24 hours or longer depending on how much you drank, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
- But it can actually end up robbing you of a good night’s rest — or worse, could cause some challenging sleep problems.
- In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of alcohol use on sleep quality.
Alcohol interferes with these circadian rhythms regulating the liver, and can contribute to compromised liver function, liver toxicity, and disease. Alcohol is the most common sleep aid—at least 20 percent of American adults rely on it for help falling asleep. But the truth is, drinking regularly—even moderate drinking—is much more likely to interfere with your sleep than to assist it. A hangover can be a mild form of alcohol withdrawal, according to the NIAAA.
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. Sunnyside uses a psychology-based approach to help you drink more mindfully, no matter what your goal is. You’ll get a 100% custom plan, then use daily texts to track your progress and help you stay on target.
Hangover symptoms peak — and solution based treatment and detox likely, feel their worst — when the body’s blood alcohol concentration returns to zero. Some people think that a “hair of the dog,” an alcoholic beverage consumed the morning after a night of heavy drinking, can help cure a hangover. According to one study, about 25% of people who drink to intoxication don’t have hangovers at all. Hangover symptoms peak — and likely, feel their worst — when the body’s blood alcohol concentration returns to zero. Some people think that a “hair of the dog,” an alcoholic beverage consumed the morning after a night of heavy drinking, can help cure a hangover.
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. Men with higher AUDIT-KR scores tended to suffer from poor sleep quality. AUDIT-KR scores showed significant correlations with subjective sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleep disturbances in men. It’s important to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) or sleep apnea (when breathing stops multiple time a night) if they are present. Many people turn to alcohol to cope with difficult feelings, but alcohol may end up having the opposite effect if it interferes with sleep.
The circadian rhythm also plays an important role in kidney function. While your internal clock regulates the kidney’s release of electrolytes and works to filter fluids, alcohol inhibits these processes. It is recommended you increase your daily water consumption and avoid drinking alcohol before bed to prevent its dehydrating effects. And though it may help in the short term, drinking alcohol before bed can actually lead to a night of horrible, restless sleep.