While libations aren\u2019t marketed as such, alcohol is (anecdotally) the most popular sleep aid in the world. But alcohol and sleep have a tricky relationship. While your favorite potable can help you fall asleep more quickly, that\u2019s where the benefits come to a screeching halt. According to our own director of sleep health, Dr. Shelby Harris, \u201c[Alcohol] is great to fall asleep with, but it wears off pretty quick, and when it wears off, it messes with the quality of sleep you have.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the research shows us as much. Instead of deep, restful sleep, you\u2019re more likely to find nighttime awakenings, lower sleep quality, and reduced sleep efficiency at the bottom of your glass. And while you might think that a glass or two to take the edge off the day can\u2019t hurt, you should know that it doesn\u2019t take much alcohol to change your sleep patterns and harm your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The content on Sleepopolis is meant to be informative in nature, but it shouldn\u2019t take the place of medical advice and supervision from a trained professional. If you feel you may be suffering from any sleep disorder or medical condition, please see your healthcare provider immediately.<\/em> Additionally, if you're looking to decrease your alcohol use and feel you drink in excess, it's best to contact your healthcare professional before doing so, as quitting alcohol abruptly can cause severe complications for exess drinkers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

How Alcohol Affects Sleep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlcohol is a depressant for the brain, which means it has a sedative effect \u2014 the more alcohol you consume, the sleepier it will make you feel,\u201d says Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, head sleep expert and sleep scientist at Wesper<\/a>. \u201cDrinking alcohol, especially at nighttime, increases your drive to sleep and makes it easier to fall asleep for most. However, it negatively impacts sleep quality by changing the way we cycle through our sleep stages<\/a>, and it causes frequent awakenings<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She adds, \u201cDrinking alcohol causes excessive urination, so your trips to the bathroom during the night will be more frequent. It also affects your breathing by over-relaxing the muscles of the upper airway, which can cause snoring and sleep apnea<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alcohol and Sleep Architecture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Beyond tinkering with your ability to sleep soundly and promoting frequent bathroom trips, alcohol can also wreak a little havoc<\/a> on your sleep architecture<\/a> (the organizational structure of your sleep stages and how you move through the various sleep cycles). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitially, alcohol reduces the amount of time it takes to enter stage 3 \u2014 Non-REM, slow-wave sleep<\/a>, the deepest sleep stage<\/a> where we are mostly unconscious,\u201d says Rohrscheib. And when we pair decreased sleep latency with findings that \u201cpeople who have consumed alcohol stay in deep sleep longer (especially for the first half of the night), this frequently gives us the impression that alcohol improves sleep.\u201d But once the alcohol begins to metabolize, Rohrscheib tells us it winds up having the opposite effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the second half of the night, the new chemicals created by our liver metabolizing alcohol are extremely wake-promoting and act like a stimulant<\/a>,\u201d says Rohrscheib. \u201cUltimately, this can impact the brain\u2019s ability to enter REM sleep<\/a>, the stage where we [do most of our memorable] dreaming. Instead of spending a sufficient amount of time in REM, our sleep becomes very fragmented<\/a>, and we wake up frequently<\/a> and are often more restless in the second half of the night.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TLDR:<\/strong> Alcohol initially allows us to get lots of deep sleep, but it contributes to a lack of quality REM sleep and reduces overall sleep quality. And according to Rohrscheib, this series of events is what ultimately contributes to grogginess, headaches, and excessive sleepiness the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Does the Amount of Alcohol Matter? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you fancy a glass of wine with dinner or a nightcap before bed, you might want to cap the Chiante and put the Negroni down \u2014 research shows that even low alcohol intake can stymie your sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Finnish researchers<\/a> analyzed alcohol consumption and the night of sleep that followed for 4,098 adults between the ages of 18-65. Ultimately, they found that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n