Why alcohol affects sleep, what happens when you stop and how to obtain a better night’s sleep

We know that many people find it difficult to sleep once they stop drinking and it can be a source of real frustration, poor quality of life and a serious cause of lapse/relapse.

The truth is alcohol has never been your friend when it comes to sleep. It actually worsens the quality of sleep. We understand this fallacy might seem hard to believe but the research has been done and is inarguable: drinking to help us sleep only makes our sleep quality poor and helps cause dependency.

How Drinking Affects Sleep

Disruption of sleep cycles

While alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, it can disrupt your sleep cycles once you’re asleep. It tends to fragment sleep, leading to more awakenings during the night.

Decreased REM sleep

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is a crucial stage of the sleep cycle associated with dreaming and cognitive processes. Alcohol consumption can reduce the amount of time spent in REM sleep, leading to poorer sleep quality overall.

Increased snoring and sleep apnoea

Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the throat, which can increase the likelihood of snoring and exacerbate sleep apnoea symptoms in individuals who have this condition.

Dehydration

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases urine production, which can lead to dehydration. Dehydration can cause discomfort during sleep and may contribute to waking up during the night.

Delayed onset of deeper sleep

Alcohol consumption can delay the onset of deeper stages of sleep, such as slow-wave sleep, which is important for physical restoration and rejuvenation.

Next-day effects

Even if you manage to fall asleep after consuming alcohol, you may experience disrupted sleep patterns, leading to feelings of fatigue and grogginess the next day. This can affect cognitive function, mood, and overall productivity.

How to Improve Sleep

‘Sleep Hygiene’ is the term used to describe good sleep habits. Good sleep hygiene is recommended as an important part of treating alcohol.

Sleep Hygiene Tips

Considerable research has gone into developing guidelines and tips to promote good sleep, and substantial evidence suggests that these strategies can provide long-term solutions to sleep difficulties.

Get Regular

One of the best ways to train your body to sleep well is to go to bed and get up at roughly same time every day, even on weekends and days off! This regular rhythm will make you feel better and will give your body something to work from.

Sleep When Sleepy

Only try to sleep when you actually feel tired or sleepy, rather than spending too much time awake in bed.

Get Up and Try Again

If you haven’t been able to get to sleep after about 20 minutes, get up and do something calming or boring until you feel sleepy, then return to bed and try again. Sit quietly on the couch with the lights off (bright light will tell your brain that it is time to wake up) or read something boring. Avoid anything too stimulating or interesting, as this will wake you up even more.

Avoid Caffeine and Nicotine

It is best to avoid consuming any caffeine (in coffee, tea, cola drinks, chocolate, and some medications) or nicotine (cigarettes) for at least 4–6 hours before going to bed. These substances act as stimulants and interfere with the ability to fall asleep.

Avoid Alcohol (Obvious but included here)

it should go without saying. Many people believe that alcohol is relaxing and helps them to get to sleep at first, but it actually interrupts the quality of sleep. A lot of people who become dependent drinkers have used alcohol at some point to help them get to sleep, and then it became a necessity. The truth is, it may have seemed to help, but the solution became the problem.

Bed is for Sleeping

Try not to use your bed for anything other than sleep and sex, so that your body learns to associate being in bed with sleeping. If you lie in bed watching TV, eating, reading, working on your laptop, paying bills, and other things, your body will not learn to associate this place with rest.

No Naps

It is best to avoid naps during the day to ensure you are tired at bedtime. If you can’t make it through the day without a nap, make sure it is for less than an hour and before 3 pm.

Sleep Rituals

You can develop your own rituals to remind your body that it is time to sleep. Some people find it useful to do relaxing stretches or breathing exercises for 15 minutes before bed each night or sit calmly with a cup of caffeine-free tea.

Bath Time

Having a hot bath 1–2 hours before bedtime can be useful, raising your body temperature and then making you feel sleepy as it drops again. Research shows that sleepiness is associated with a drop in body temperature.

Don’t Clock-Watch

Many people who struggle with sleep tend to watch the clock too much. Frequently checking the clock during the night can wake you up (especially if you turn on the light to read the time) and reinforces negative thoughts such as “Oh no, look how late it is, I’ll never get to sleep” or “it’s so early, I have only slept for 5 hours, this is terrible.”

Use a Sleep Diary

A worksheet can be a useful way of making sure you have the right facts about your sleep, rather than making assumptions. Because a diary involves watching the clock, it is a good idea to use it only for two weeks to get an idea of what is going on and then perhaps two months down the track to see how you are progressing.

Exercise

Regular exercise is a good idea to support good sleep, but try not to do strenuous exercise within 4 hours of bedtime. Morning walks are a great way to start the day feeling refreshed.

Eat Right

A healthy, balanced diet will help you to sleep well, but timing is important. Some people find that a very empty stomach at bedtime is distracting, so a light snack can be useful, but a heavy meal soon before bed can also interrupt sleep. Some people recommend a warm glass of milk, which contains tryptophan, a natural sleep inducer.

The Right Space

Your bed and bedroom must be quiet and comfortable for sleeping. A cooler room with enough blankets to stay warm is best; make sure you have curtains or an eye mask to block out early-morning light, and earplugs if there is noise outside your room.

Keep Daytime Routine

Even if you have a bad night’s sleep and are tired, you must try to keep your daytime activities the same as you had planned. That is, don’t avoid activities because you feel tired, as this can reinforce any insomnia.