Sober Sis Blog

Jan 24 | Written By Jenn Kautsch

How Alcohol Affects Our Sleep

After helping over 20,000 women in my 21-day reset challenge one of the most common questions I get every time is…

When will I start sleeping better if I take a break from drinking?

Before I dive into all the stats and the science, I wanted to bring you into my personal experience with using alcohol as somewhat of a ‘sleep aid’.

Did you know that around 20% of drinkers are using alcohol to help them fall asleep?

I definitely fit into that category.

You see I was really out-sourcing a lot of my evenings to alcohol.

I was using the beginning of the evening to “relax and unwind”.

I was using it towards the end of the evening to numb out my mind (so I didn't hear my snoring husband next to me or have my mind overthinking) and sure enough alcohol definitely worked to knock me out.

The problem is there was always that 3 am wake-up call!

…you know the one!

Where I would wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth, sometimes a headache already, and just that feeling of dread like oh no, I did it again.

I want to explain to you a little bit more about what was going on in my body physiologically and what was happening.

Understanding this really helped me understand how alcohol (even one drink) can wreck a good night's sleep.

Also this is something I talk a lot about in my 21-day reset where we go more in depth about different topics and I know sleep is an issue a lot of people struggle with.

What happens when we have alcohol?

You know how everything that goes up must come down right?

Well in this case alcohol is a depressant in our bodies.

Even though it feels good at the time and kind of feels euphoric to get that early buzz on…

… really alcohol is a depressant in our body and brings us down.

Our body then has to create stimulants inside that bring us back up, but those usually don't kick in until after a few hours of drinking has subsided.

This brings on that feeling of anxiety or restlessness and the stimulants in my body which would be waking me up.

Did you know everything about alcohol has an opposite effect?

Everything that is relaxing on the front end is actually going to be overstimulating on the backend.

5 Key Ways Alcohol Affects Our Sleep:

1. Increases Your Heart Rate

2. Increases Anxiety - The feeling of dread (especially at 3 am).

3. Activates and Aggravates Breathing Problems

4. Suppresses Melatonin Production - Melatonin is what signals to your body that it's time to sleep.

5. Is A Diuretic - Will cause you to get up at night and use the restroom.

How long will it take to have a good sleep if you're not drinking?

It does take time to get your body back into balance.

The first 7 to 14 days your body is really all over the place physically, but then it really does start to stabilize and you will start to find your sleep rhythm again (and that's good news).

What helps me in the evenings to relax and get better sleep…

Sleepytime Tea
Having a Sleepytime tea or something with valerian root in the evenings closer to that time has helped a ton.

‘Calm’ Magnesium
Magnesium is one of the nutrients most depleted when you're drinking alcohol on a regular basis.
A key component to getting a good night's sleep is having enough magnesium in your body. I drink a tea called ‘Calm’ by Natural Vitality that has also really helped me a lot.

Tart Cherry Juice
As a nightcap, tart cherry juice can promote the production of melatonin and tryptophan.
Tryptophan is what is in things like turkey which is why everyone gets so tired and sleepy after a big Thanksgiving meal, but tryptophan is actually a great thing to have in your body closer to that time.

No Screens
Obviously getting off the screens closer to that time helps a lot.

Cool Bedroom
Having a cooler room and getting the temperature down.

Reading
Reading something in the evening relaxes my mind. It’s a great alternative when putting your phone down before bed.

No News
I try not to watch the news or anything too stimulating right before bed, it really helps

Alcohol, even one drink, does absolutely nothing to help you get a good night's sleep.

If you want to know even more information on how to sleep better I would love to tell you more about this in my 21-day reset challenge.

Click here to sign up and get more information about this and other topics that will help you have a healthy mind, a healthy body, and a healthy heart.