INSOMNIA & SLEEP DISORDERS

It’s a myth that alcohol helps you sleep. Alcohol actually increases the risk of insomnia and can have a huge impact on your quality of sleep.

Difficulty getting to sleep and disturbed sleep.

Even small amounts of alcohol can affect normal sleep patterns, but after heavy drinking, you are especially likely to wake up early or have disrupted sleep.  

At first normal patterns of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep are skipped as you fall straight into a deep sleep. Then as your body attempts to process the alcohol, and sober you up, you are more likely to move from deep sleep into a lighter and easier to wake up from REM sleep.

Improve your sleep.

Most people find that cutting down on alcohol actually improves their sleep. So there may be good reason to say no to that nightcap.

A warning sign of alcohol dependence.

If you’re a regular heavy drinker then your body may be used to a certain amount of alcohol in its system. If you typically wake up in the morning craving alcohol or find yourself craving it during your waking hours, this could be a warning sign of alcohol dependence.