How Long to Wait Between Drinking Alcohol and Bedtime

So while alcohol is being processed, before you begin to feel a bit drowsy, the calories are being converted to energy. Breathing problems — Since alcohol’s sedative effect extends to your entire body, including your muscles, it may allow your airway to close more easily while you’re asleep. This can greatly increase the risk of sleep apnea especially if you drink within the last couple of hours before bedtime. 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.

It also leads to lighter, more restless sleep as the night wears on, diminished sleep quality, and next-day fatigue. Heavy alcohol use can contribute to the development of insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. As many as three quarters of people with alcohol dependence experience insomnia symptoms when they drink.

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.

Sleep Medicine Physician

At first, alcohol has a sedative effect and you will probably feel more relaxed and drift off easily. Certain regions of the brain are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol. When alcohol interacts with cells in these regions, the overall effect leads to those characteristic feelings of relaxation, lowered inhibitions, slurred speech, and may induce feelings of drowsiness and lethargy.

Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to our newsletter and get the same great content delivered straight to your inbox!

1. In general, try to avoid drinking alcohol four hours before you plan on going to sleep.
2. Alcohol is the most common sleep aid—at least 20 percent of American adults rely on it for help falling asleep.
3. As your body metabolizes the alcohol and the sedative effects wear off, it can interfere with your circadian rhythm, and cause you to wake up frequently or before you’re properly rested.
4. Not getting enough REM sleep can make concentrating difficult, cause forgetfulness and leave people feeling excessively sleepy during the day.
5. It’s true, sleep may happen more quickly after consuming a drink or two.

It’s important to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep) or sleep apnea (when how to taper off prozac 10mg breathing stops multiple time a night) if they are present. During the second half of the night, sleep becomes more actively disrupted. As alcohol is metabolized and any of its sedative effects dissipate, the body undergoes what scientists call a “rebound effect.” This includes a move from deeper to lighter sleep, with more frequent awakenings during the second half of the night. The rebound effect may include more time in REM—a lighter sleep stage from which it is easy to be awakened.

At four times throughout the day and night, participants were given either a mixed alcoholic drink or accutane and alcohol interaction a placebo drink that mimicked the taste of the alcoholic drink. It is recommended that alcohol not be consumed in the last four hours before bedtime. Even though alcohol may help you fall asleep, it interferes with the quality of your sleep.

Wait Between Drinking and Bedtime

You may or may not remember them, but they can be lucid or give you a feeling that you are half awake and half asleep. Sure, that nightcap, last glass of wine or beer before bed may help you feel sleepy. But it can actually end up robbing you of a good night’s rest — or worse, could cause some challenging sleep problems. Circadian rhythms affect how the body responds to alcohol, depending on the timing of alcohol intake. Long-established research shows the body metabolizes alcohol differently at different times of day.

Our editors and medical experts rigorously evaluate every article and guide to ensure the information is factual, up-to-date, and free of bias. Researchers conducted a study using 27 men and women between the ages of 21-26. Or, perhaps you’re at the pub for the work Christmas party, and you think you’ll just have one more drink before heading home. Peters is a board-certified neurologist and sleep medicine specialist and is a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. REM sleep has a restorative effect and plays a role in memory and concentration. Poor or what is a good sobriety gift insufficient REM sleep has been linked to not only grogginess the next day, but also a higher risk of disease and early death.

Drinking a light to moderate amount of alcohol (one or two standard drinks) before bed may not have much of an impact. Finally, going to bed with alcohol in your system increases your chances of having vivid dreams or nightmares, or sleepwalking and other parasomnias. It has a sedative effect that helps you relax and makes you drowsy, so you fall asleep faster. Alcohol is classified as a central nervous system depressant, meaning it slows down brain activity.

This may result in the person verbally or physically acting out their dreams, which may cause abnormal behaviors such as kicking, flailing, jumping or yelling during sleep. If left untreated, chronic sleep apnea can drastically impact your quality of life and lead to serious health concerns, such as weight gain and obesity, hypertension, stroke, memory impairment and heart failure. Before reaching for that glass, hear from the experts how alcohol before bed might affect your sleep. Alcohol can also have immediate effects on the heart and circulatory system. Blood vessels widen, resulting in a drop in blood pressure, which can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded. You’ve come home after a long day at work, you have dinner, put the kids to bed, and then you have your usual nightcap before drifting off to sleep.

The effects of alcohol in the body are what are known as biphasic, meaning “in two phases.” When first consumed, alcohol has a stimulating effect. Later, after alcohol has been in the system for a period time, its effects are sedating. But as this new research indicates, the effects of alcohol—particularly the stimulating effects—are magnified during certain periods of the body’s 24-hour circadian cycle. Even though alcohol can make you feel sleepy, it may impact your overall quality of sleep. If you go to bed with alcohol still in your system, you may experience headaches, frequent awakenings, night sweats, more intense snoring, and nightmares. If you drink alcohol at night and have trouble falling or staying asleep, you might wonder how long you should wait between your last drink and going to bed so your sleep isn’t impacted.

It’s not because I don’t appreciate a glass of wine with a great meal, or a few beers on a hot summer evening. It’s because I know what alcohol can do to sleep and healthy circadian rhythms. Reducing your alcohol intake, especially in the hours leading up to your bedtime, can help you wake up well-rested and energized in the morning. In addition, since poor sleep can negatively affect one’s health, the benefits of a restful night go beyond feeling alert in the morning.