Alcohol & Sleep
Alcohol & Sleep
If you’re having trouble sleeping, alcohol may help you nod off but regular drinking can affect the quality of your sleep. This can impact mood, concentration levels and decision-making and in turn your mental health.
How does alcohol affect sleep quality?
It’s all about the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep. If you drink more than six units in an evening (about two large glasses of wine), you could end up spending more time in pre-REM ‘deep sleep’ and less time than usual in the REM stage of sleep. This sounds like a good thing, but the REM stage of sleep is essential for:
Alcohol affects sleep in other ways too:
- exercising important neural connections in the brain which are key to mental and overall well-being and health.
- stimulating the areas of your brain that are essential in learning and making or retaining memories.
Alcohol affects sleep in other ways too:
- It contributes to sleep apnea and snoring,
- causes an increase in daytime sleepiness,
- causes an increase in bathroom visits,
- and interrupts the body’s circadian.
If you think alcohol is affecting your sleep, the best thing to do is to stick to the low-risk guidelines
and avoid drinking alcohol before bed.
You can check your drinking via our Alcohol Test, it’s super quick and confidential and give you further advice on how to make positive changes.
Want to know how risky your drinking is?
Alcohol can have a big impact on your health - take the test to see how your drinking measures up.
The service is free and open to all Brent residents aged 18 or over, as well as their families and carers.
