Does Alcohol Help You Sleep?

But the more someone drinks, the more significant the impact, said Meadows, pointing to a 2018 study in the journal JMIR Mental Health. 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. 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.

1. The typical sleep cycle begins with three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep and ends with rapid eye movement (REM).
2. Breathing problems — Since alcohol’s sedative effect extends to your entire body, including your muscles, it may allow your airway to close more easily while you’re asleep.
3. For many people who drink moderately, falling asleep more quickly may seem like an advantage of a nightly glass of wine.
4. Sleep deprivation due to alcohol consumption can exacerbate performance impairment and daytime sleepiness.

Surprising Ways Hydration Affects Your Sleep

A newer study found that one dose of alcohol had no effect symptoms of being roofied on the circadian rhythm in rodents. 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. The circadian rhythm also plays an important role in kidney function.

Guy Meadows, a sleep researcher and co-founder of The Sleep School, an online platform offering science-based support around sleep, told Live Science that alcohol affects the four stages of sleep in different ways. Drinking a light to moderate amount of alcohol (one or two standard drinks) before bed may not have much of an impact. Finally, going to bed with alcohol in your system increases your chances of having vivid dreams or nightmares, or sleepwalking and other parasomnias. While a drink now and then may have a sedative effect that causes you to drift off faster, research shows that it can impede sleep quality in the long run. Keep in mind that for people with AUD, sleeping issues may persist through the withdrawal phase.

Vivid dreams

As your body metabolizes the alcohol and the sedative effects wear off, it can interfere with your circadian rhythm, and cause you to wake up frequently or before you’re properly rested. But part of a smart, sleep-friendly lifestyle is managing alcohol consumption so it doesn’t disrupt your sleep and circadian rhythms. While this may work for a short time, typically, more alcohol is needed to accomplish this over time.

REM sleep has a restorative effect and plays a role in memory and concentration. Poor or insufficient REM sleep has been linked to not only grogginess the next day, but also a higher risk of disease and early death. Dr. Seema Khosla is the medical director of the North Dakota Center for Sleep and a medical advisor for MedBridge Healthcare. She is also a fellow of the College of Chest Physicians, as well as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Dr. Khosla runs a telemedicine outreach program that serves rural areas in North Dakota and has done so for the past decade. She is active within AASM and has served on numerous AASM committees, including the original Telemedicine Task Force.

Alcohol and Sleep: What You Need to Know

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. Women’s sleep is more disturbed by alcohol than men’s, Meadows said. In a 2011 study published demi lovato first album in the journal Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, men and women consumed the same amount of alcohol before going to bed. Although the results were self-reported, women said they felt more tired before bed, experienced more nighttime awakenings and recorded less sleep than their male counterparts.

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. Alcohol before bed has been shown to lead to fragmented sleep and frequent waking. Research shows that alcohol actually has a disruptive effect on your sleep the rest of the night and messes with sleep quality and quantity. Even though a glass or two may help you initially drift off faster, art therapy ideas for addiction it probably won’t benefit your sleep quality in the long run. If you have alcohol in your system when you hit the hay, you may not sleep very deeply, or for very long, on and off throughout the night. That’s because as alcohol starts to metabolize, the sedative effect wears off.

Tips for sleeping after a night out

As a passionate advocate for science-based content, she loves writing captivating material that supports scientific research and education. In her spare time, you can often find her exploring nature with her husband and three children. If you’re struggling to get enough quality rest, talk to a health care professional about ways to improve your sleep. Making a plan to focus on better sleep habits can help you feel your best and improve your overall health.