Recent statistics show that Australians’ annual alcohol consumption is around 9.3 litres, with young adults drinking the most amount in one sitting. It’s obvious that we love a good drink and it’s become a vital part of our culture.
After all, alcohol itself isn’t bad. Some experts believe that moderate drinking reduces the risk of heart disease and even lowers the chances of incurring diabetes.
But let’s be honest, most of us don’t pay much attention to the long-term side effects of excessive booze. When it comes to heavy drinking, what we dread is waking up the morning after. We’ve all been there the day after with an awful hangover, splitting headache, and wishing we could stay in bed all day.
We could go on about the health effects of alcohol, but we’ll leave that to the medical experts. What we want to look at is the possibility of achieving sleep quality, despite alcohol before bed, or if it really is possible.
Let’s Be Clear First – Alcohol is Not a Sleep Aid
It’s true. Alcohol is reducing the time that takes you to fall asleep. But that’s just immediate and short-lived.
While alcohol is known to have sedative effects, this drowsiness does not do wonders to the quality of your sleep unless you address the root of the problem.
According to the medical director at The London Sleep Centre in the U.K, Irshaad Ebrahim, “alcohol may seem to be helping you to sleep, as it helps induce sleep, but overall, it is more disruptive to normal sleep, particularly in the second half of the night… Alcohol also suppresses breathing and can precipitate sleep apnea or pauses in breathing…”
Treating alcohol as a sleep aid may also result in alcohol dependence and is evidently not a sustainable option.
If you want to keep drinking and not experience trouble sleeping, try out these nightcap-like tips today!
What Alcohol Affects, Water Offsets
We’ve all been told that drinking eight glasses of water a day keeps us healthy and ready for the day, but have you ever tried drinking water after every pint or shot?
One of the effects of alcohol is obviously, getting you drunk. Intoxication, mild or severe, leads to dehydration and this adds to the headaches and vomiting.
It has been proven that drinking water in between rounds minimises alcohol effects in the short term, and allows you to function at a kind of normal capacity. Drinking plenty of water can combat the diuretic effect of alcohol on your body.
Another benefit of drinking water while drinking alcohol lessens the effects of alcohol when it comes to your sleep. A bad hangover prevents you from getting enough sleep and in bad cases, will have you throwing up in the middle of the night. Drinking plenty of water might help prevent those sleep disruptions.
Alcohol affects the central nervous system and your stomach, leading to disorientation and an upset stomach. In order to counter these negative effects of alcohol use, drinking water is a must.
Know Your Alcohol Intake Threshold
Setting the limit is different from actually staying below the line. This is true in life as well as for drinking.
Knowing how much alcohol you can handle before your stomach rebels against you is important. In order to prevent future embarrassment and to do good for your physical and mental health, it’s best to discover your limit.
Drinking obviously leads to intoxication, which can sometimes feel like sleepiness without the urge to go to bed. To prevent stumbling around like a zombie, learn when to say no so you’re not wrecked for the next day.
Another benefit of not taking binge drinking to the edge is that it doesn’t lead to strong hangovers. We all get a bit tipsy after a few drinks and for some that buzz is enough. However, there are those who want to take it too far.
Unlike a light buzz, a hangover is nothing to scoff at, as it can lead to a range of symptoms, including feeling like your head is about to split open. Being passed out from over intoxication is different from a deep sleep after all.
A bad hangover affects your sleep patterns when experienced numerous times. Drinking too much disrupts our master biological clock and limits the production of melatonin. Not even the body’s natural circadian rhythm is safe as the quality of your sleep is compromised.
Did you know? Alcoholics and habitual heavy drinkers experience sleep disorders, as huge amounts of alcohol affect the brain’s functions including when to sleep. To prevent that, learn your limit and stick to it.
Schedule Happy Hour Accordingly
It’s common to head out for a drink after work instead of dinner. Admittedly, this seems like the best time to let loose. All the responsibilities for the day are essentially over and all that is left is to relax.
You better be okay with sacrificing sleep, since drinking so close to bedtime tends to mess with the hours of sleep you get at any given night. Most people drink past dinner time and that means less time for getting a good night’s rest to prepare for the next day.
A glass of wine as a nightcap is fine, but a night of drinking hard affects your sleep hygiene in the long term, while the immediate effects of a hangover and sluggishness are ever-present.
To prevent having a good time colliding with your need for more rest, schedule your drinking dates earlier to give your body additional time to rest and recuperate.
Also, putting a gap between your last alcohol drink and bedtime allows your body to prepare itself to shut down and recharge for the next day, making sleeping easier.
Go Easy on Pain Meds
You are advised to stay away from sleep medicine after drinking a lot. It might sound like a great way to cheat the system and get some rest, but alcohol can multiply its effect, mess with your airway, and disrupt your sleep cycle.
Taking melatonin after drinking alcohol can be disruptive or potentially dangerous. It can cause:
- drowsiness, which can make it much harder for you to drive or focus
- dizziness, which can make driving or even walking around dangerous
- increased anxiety, which can make you feel irritable or raise your blood pressure
Your Bed Is Your Best Friend
Stated simply, alcohol and a good night’s sleep do not go together. You’ll often end up sacrificing one for the other. And unfortunately, our post-alcohol sleep quality goes downhill quickly as we age.
Nevertheless, there are times when we cannot forego drinking. In those moments, you want to just sleep and make the world stop spinning.
Good thing that there are simple ways to get you conked out faster and better.
The first thing to do is make sure that your bedroom is conducive for sleep, meaning no bright lights and loud noise. If you spent your night at a bar or club, you were exposed to harsh lights and booming sounds, so the second half of the night should be all peaceful and quiet.
Another way to ensure a relaxing and deep sleep after alcohol intake is trying out weighted blankets that are designed to ease you into a comfortable snooze.
Deep slumber is the part of the sleep pattern where our bodies slowly shut down and prepare for REM sleep, where dreaming happens. This stage can be disrupted by the alcohol in our system and prevents our brains from processing information better.
One for the road
Drinking is something we all love to do, for celebrating or even when you’re down. Whether alone or with friends, a few drinks won’t harm anybody.
That said, moderation is key. In order to prevent yourself from having trouble falling asleep or developing sleep problems in the future, learn to curb your alcohol consumption.
The steps and tips outlined above are mere guides and handling a hangover differs from person to person. What works well for everyone when it comes to sleeping after alcohol use is to refrain from heavy drinking night in and night out.
It’s not wrong to have fun and let loose once in a while, but in the process, we shouldn’t forget about our sleep. Cheers!