REM sleep is characterized by increased brain activity, relaxation of the body, rapid eye movements, and increased dreaming. People in alcohol recovery take a long time to fall asleep, have problems sleeping through the night, and feel that their sleep is not restorative. While heavy alcohol use can trigger insomnia, the opposite is also true. People with insomnia have an increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder, potentially because many individuals turn to alcohol as a sleep aid.
Can’t Sleep Without Alcohol? Sleep MD Explains How to Stop
If you have a restless night after a drink or two, you might reach for an extra cup of coffee the next day to combat daytime sleepiness. If you’ve had a lot to drink, you might even have a hangover to contend with the next night, which won’t make sleeping any easier. Below, we’ll cover why you can’t sleep after drinking alcohol and how you can use the RISE app to fall and stay asleep more easily, even when you have a drink. While the timeline described above represents a general pattern of sleep improvement after quitting alcohol, it’s important to recognize that individual experiences can vary significantly. Several factors can influence how quickly and to what extent sleep improves after giving up alcohol.
- Sleep debt is compared to your sleep need, which is the genetically determined amount of sleep you need.
- As the body continues to adjust to life without alcohol, more noticeable improvements in sleep quality begin to emerge.
- A soothing bedtime routine signals to your body that it’s time to wind down.
- It is recommended that alcohol not be consumed in the last four hours before bedtime.
- By seeking professional help, you can embark on a journey towards healthier and more restful sleep without relying on alcohol.
- By exploring alternative methods to promote healthy sleep, individuals can improve their sleep quality and overall well-being in a sustainable way.
Bedtime stories for adults: The benefits of sleep stories for grown ups
Once you expel it from your life, the body can invest energy once assigned to battling alcohol’s toxic effects into nurturing and rebuilding itself. Your dietary choices significantly affect the quality of your sleep. Consuming balanced meals throughout the day, avoiding caffeine, sugar, and heavy meals close to bedtime can go a long way in improving sleep quality. When you stop drinking, your brain may rebound by increasing REM sleep, sometimes leading to an overload of vivid dreaming or even nightmares. This REM sleep rebound can be disruptive, leading to more fragmented sleep and daytime fatigue. REM sleep – the dream-stage of sleep, where most restorative processes occur – is adversely affected by alcohol.
Hone is an online clinic that helps men Signs of Molly Use & Addiction Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches and women manage their health. As part of your subscription and as medically indicated, physicians prescribe medications, and recommend supplements that are delivered to you from the comfort of your home. This is the first time I, the hottest sleeper in the world, have felt too cold in bed. Always check with your healthcare provider before starting a new supplement.
Inpatient treatment is best for moderate to severe alcohol addictions or people who have relapsed. Inpatient treatment involves living on-site at the detox or rehab facility, an approach that keeps patients in a healing environment and allows for better monitoring and treatment. If you sleep better when you don’t drink, you might consider stopping alcohol use entirely.
Based on data from roughly 160,000 Sleep Foundation profiles, nearly 90% of respondents who regularly consume alcohol in the evening have reported at least one sleep-related problem. You may have also developed a tolerance to the sedative effects of alcohol and other factors, like poor sleep hygiene, could be keeping you awake. Lifestyle changes and sleep hygiene practices can significantly influence the speed and extent of sleep improvement. Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management techniques can also contribute to better sleep quality. So, when you quit alcohol, your stress and anxiety levels may spike, and these elevated levels are not conducive to peaceful sleep. Patients of alcohol withdrawal often report frequent nighttime awakenings, difficulty falling asleep, and unsatisfactory sleep quality.
General 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.
Alcohol interrupts the four stages of sleep
Research also suggests that alcohol-induced sleep disorders may include sleep apnea and potentially contribute to sleepwalking. However, there is no direct evidence that alcohol causes narcolepsy. Alcohol is highly effective at suppressing melatonin, a key facilitator of sleep and regulator of sleep-wake cycles. Research indicates that a moderate dose of alcohol up to an hour before bedtime can reduce melatonin production by nearly 20 percent. Alcohol has a direct effect on circadian rhythms, diminishing the ability of the master biological clock to respond to the light cues that keep it in sync.
Long-established research shows the body metabolizes alcohol differently at different times of day. Studies have shown the body is more effective at processing alcohol at certain times of the day than others. Because the liver can only process so much alcohol at a time—about one standard drink per hour—as you drink, alcohol builds up in the bloodstream and eventually makes its way to the brain. Individuals who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are also particularly affected by insomnia. A 2020 study found that people with ADHD are more likely to consume alcohol to treat their insomnia symptoms.