People often think that having a few glasses of wine or a shot of liquor will help them fall asleep fast and sleep peacefully through the night. But the truth is that, even if you manage to nod off into dreamland, the chances of getting a good night’s sleep are slim.
In reality, alcohol and quality sleep just don’t mix. And the more alcohol you drink, the worse you sleep, which means you can look forward to brain fog and feeling lethargic the following day.
Why Doesn’t Alcohol Help You Sleep Better?
Alcohol disrupts the normal phases of deep and light sleep that we all go through each night. These phases are known collectively as your sleep architecture.
When alcohol is added to your bedtime routine, it interrupts those healthy patterns, meaning you’re likely to wake up several times during the night instead of smoothly transitioning from stage to stage. Over time, this sleep disruption can create health problems.
Here’s how a night of alcohol-induced sleep unfolds:
During the first half of the night, when the alcohol levels are still high in your bloodstream, you’ll likely sleep deeply and without dreaming. That’s because alcohol acts on gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a neurotransmitter that has a calming effect. Alcohol also suppresses rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, which is when most dreaming occurs.
During the second half of the night, when your alcohol levels have dropped, your brain kicks into overdrive. You start tossing and turning because your body is experiencing rebound arousal. You’re also more prone to waking up multiple times and having vivid or stressful dreams.
Alcohol is also a diuretic, meaning it increases your urine output. And that means (you guessed it), you’re more likely to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
You’re also more likely to snore if you drink before bed. Alcohol relaxes the muscles of your upper airways, causing normal breathing to be disrupted. This is especially dangerous if you have obstructive sleep apnea, which is a condition that makes people wake up several times during the night due to a momentary airway collapse that prevents breathing.
What Happens to Your Sleep When You Stop Drinking?
Sleep allows your body to take a break by lowering your blood pressure, relaxing your muscles, and releasing hormones that decrease inflammation in your body. These are restorative benefits that your body can’t afford to miss out on!
Sleep disturbances are some of the most common and persistent problems people experience after they quit drinking. Sometimes, alcohol use masks pre-existing and undiagnosed sleep issues. Other times, quitting alcohol leaves your brain and body scrambling to readjust to a normal function, ultimately disrupting your ability to get quality sleep.
Research shows that up to 91% of those with an alcohol use disorder suffer from sleeping problems, including insomnia. These problems can last for months or even years after getting sober.
Effects of Sleep Loss in Sobriety
Unfortunately, sobriety and abstinence become more difficult to manage if you aren’t able to get enough quality sleep.
Difficulty sleeping, especially when you feel like you can’t sleep sober, may increase your risk of picking up alcohol again. In fact, insomnia during sobriety can lead to several negative side effects, such as:
- Mood swings
- Unprovoked irritability
- Hallucinations
- Anxiety
- High risk of depression
- Discomfort in sobriety
Sleep issues experienced after quitting alcohol tend to include insomnia, disrupted sleep patterns, sleep apnea, and other types of sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, for example).
Disrupted Sleep
When you quit drinking alcohol, it tends to take you longer to fall asleep at first. You may also have issues sleeping through the night without waking up, and might wake up feeling like your sleep wasn’t restorative.
Alcohol withdrawal causes a serious reduction in deep sleep and abnormal REM sleep. This sleep is characterized by increased brain activity, relaxation of the body, rapid eye movements, and increased dreaming.
Insomnia
Insomnia is a common problem after quitting drinking. This condition can make it difficult to fall and stay asleep, leading to daytime sleepiness, an inability to concentrate, and other negative issues.
People in recovery are often more likely to have problems with sleep onset than with sleep maintenance, which is why some might conclude that they can’t sleep sober.
Insomnia can linger long after you stop drinking, but it’s important to remember that many people already had insomnia before drinking alcohol became a problem.
Sleep Apnea
Alcohol and obstructive sleep apnea are directly related. In fact, data shows that drinking can increase your risk of sleep apnea by up to 25%.
Sleep apnea is a condition that relaxes and essentially closes your airway while you’re asleep, forcing you to wake up over and over throughout the night to breathe.
Do You Sleep Better When Sober?
We’ve already talked about the impact that quitting alcohol can have on your sleep health. But do those sleep disturbances ever go away? Or are you doomed to a life of restless sleep?
Here’s the good news: Things do get better! Brody Hay is a great example to illustrate those eventual sleep improvements. Hay, a 28 year old man from Louisiana, stopped drinking five months ago. A few weeks into his sobriety, he felt like his sleep had significantly improved, but he wanted to put that theory to the test.5
Hay decided to track his sleep architecture data using a sleep app. He shared those sleep metrics – from before and after getting sober – with Newsweek. Here’s what he had to say about his sleep quality since quitting alcohol:
“Since cutting alcohol, I feel as if I’ve stepped into an entirely new life as a new man. My mental clarity is sharper than ever; it’s almost as if I’ve emerged from this perpetual mental fog. My energy levels and motivation have been through the roof compared to the levels I had when drinking.”
Quitting alcohol may lead to short-term sleep disturbances as your body adjusts to its new normal. However, sustained sobriety can bring many incredible improvements, and deeper, higher-quality sleep is one of them. If you’re ready to take the first step toward overcoming alcoholism, check our directory today to find a 12-step meeting near you.