Does Alcohol Affect Sleep?

Today I want to explore and get you thinking about the relationship between alcohol and sleep. Does alcohol affect my sleep? How many of us have a drink before bed, believing it gives us a better night’s sleep?

Both my grandmother and my father had an alcoholic beverage of some kind before going to bed. A few acquaintances have drinks every evening, reporting that they don’t sleep when they go without alcohol.

Do You Wake Up Feeling Refreshed?

I come across people in my therapy room and outside that report poor quality sleep—often waking to feel like they have just gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson—whilst others report that they get very little sleep. In turn, they may start to feel sudden moments of anxiety or panic attacks throughout the day, along with thoughts of depression.

Sleep Is Vital to Our Overall Wellbeing

Sleep is a vital part of maintaining our health, both mentally and physically. I recently listened to Mathew Walker’s “Why We Sleep” and highly recommend perusing this book. Mathew is a sleep researcher in Britain and the U.S. He explains the evidence supporting the correlation between poor sleep and dementia, anxiety, depression, and physical ailments. 

Many things can affect sleep quality, such as anxiety about something that has happened or overthinking future events, overstimulation of the brain and body from caffeine-based products, or too much screen time.

How Alcohol Affects the Brain During Sleep

The relationship between sleep and alcohol is widely misunderstood.

GPs are busy and often do not have the time to ask patients with anxiety/depression and sleep issues about their daily consumed alcohol intake. The patient may be sent away with an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication and possibly sleeping pills as well. 

Prescribing medication is like a sticky plaster; it is helpful initially. For example, when bandaged, a leaky pipe stops the water from being visible; however, the pipe is still leaking. The problem is still there, but for a short while, symptoms are masked until they are not. In a few weeks, the patient may return to the GP and be prescribed a higher dose of medication, so continuing the cycle. 

Here is a link to a video about the effects of caffeine and alcohol on the brain. https://youtu.be/KQ9FfzMKBNc

Poor sleep can lead to mental and physical ailments. The cycles of sleep are deep NREM and REM sleep.

• The first stage is responsible for the body’s healing and repair.
• The second stage tidies up the day’s memories, sorting out what stays and goes to long-term memory and what is no longer essential to keep you safe. REM is the dream state responsible for creating new neural connections. We dream in metaphors, and often when we wake up, we have solved any problems from the day before.
• There is an 80/20 split. Both are vital to maintaining a healthy body and mind.

Is Your Sleep Good Quality?

If you have been struggling with sleep issues, depression and anxiety, do not fret any longer. There are things you can do to help yourself.

1. Drink more water during the day, and reduce caffeine and alcohol.
2. Ensure that the room you sleep in is dark. Use a blackout blind if necessary.
3. Reduce screen time by at least 30 minutes before sleeping. Listen to an audible book or meditation. These are two ways of resting the eyes and allowing the brain to quiet and relax.

Alcohol Does Affect Sleep

Does alcohol affect sleep? Put simply, yes, alcohol before bed can do more harm than good. When the body gets used to a chemical through regular consumption, it requires more of that chemical to achieve the same level result. Like with the medication given by the GP, the original use of the chemical is masking the result that we desired initially, whether that is a better night’s sleep or just a quietening of the noisy thoughts racing through the mind. 

It may take a few evenings for the substances to clear from the body’s system and there might be some withdrawal symptoms. After that, new habits are possible, and as we can see, there are other ways of achieving these results.