Does Alcohol Affect Sleep? What You Need to Know Before Bed

So after a few drinks, you’re likely to have increased wakefulness and more light sleep. More than 70% of those with alcohol use disorder (AUD) also experience alcohol-induced sleep disorders, such as insomnia, according to scientists in a 2020 review. Regular drinking has also been linked to shorter periods of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a disrupted circadian rhythm, and snoring.

• You may wake feeling tired, groggy and not well rested—even if you seemingly slept the entire night.
• Alcohol can also sometimes act as a stimulant, making you feel more awake instead of sleepy.
• Gateway understands how essential ongoing support is, and we provide that to our patients long after they’ve left our facilities.

Stage 3, also called slow-wave sleep, is the deepest stage, typically making up about a quarter of your sleep during the night. This is the phase when the body performs essential maintenance, like repairing tissue, strengthening does liquor help you sleep the immune system, and developing bones and muscles. Alcohol negatively affects sleep quality, particularly in high doses. It can disrupt sleep patterns, increase the risk of sleep apnea, and worsen insomnia.

Alcohol and sleep apnea

Anecdotally, alcohol is seen as something that helps you sleep, and some research confirms that — but other research finds that sleep quality can be disrupted. And a lot of the research is on alcoholics or people with other problems, which makes it hard to generalize. “In the middle of the night, when the liver is metabolizing that alcohol, people usually wake up and have an inability to fall back asleep,” says Brager.

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. While it’s unlikely one alcoholic drink will have a significant impact on your sleep quality, this varies by individual and context.

How does alcohol affect sleep?

Individuals with sleep apnea often snore, gasp for air while asleep and wake frequently throughout the night. You may wake feeling tired, groggy and not well rested—even if you seemingly slept the entire night. 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 not because I don’t appreciate a glass of wine with a great meal, or a few beers on a hot summer evening.

The closer alcohol is consumed to bed time, the more likely your sleep cycle will be affected. Sleep disruptions are also more likely if you drink on an empty stomach, or don’t hydrate while drinking. By taking a look at your own drinking habits and sleep quality, you’ll be able to better determine the role alcohol plays in your personal sleep cycle.

FAQs about alcohol and sleep

During REM sleep your body is able to relax and rest more fully. While your body is resting during REM sleep, your brain actually becomes more active and stimulates its long-term memory center. Not only can losing REM sleep make you feel sleepy and drained when you wake up, but it can also lead to long-term memory loss, impaired judgment, and overall decreased cognitive functioning. Insomnia is an issue that leads to difficulties falling or staying asleep.

Drinking more alcohol can lead to more tolerance and sleep problems, as well as alcohol dependency and health issues. Research shows beer, but not wine or liquor, was linked to mild or worse sleep-disordered breathing in men. However, this may be because beer drinkers tend to drink more alcohol in general, or because more participants in the study drank beer, so it was easier to find links compared to other drinks. You fall asleep when you drink alcohol because, in certain situations, alcohol acts as a sedative. What it does will depend on how much you drink and how close to bedtime you drink it.