sleep without alcohol

While it may seem like it helps you doze off faster, alcohol disrupts the sleep cycle, leading to a night of poor-quality rest. If you’re struggling to sleep without alcohol, transitioning to healthier sleep habits can make a significant difference in your overall well-being. Here are eleven comprehensive strategies to help you achieve restful sleep naturally, without depending on alcohol.

Eat a Small Healthy Snack Before Bed

sleep without alcohol

If you’ve been using alcohol to sleep for a while, you might think you can’t sleep without drinking. Your body and brain tell you that you need the initial relaxation to wind down, but this is not necessarily true. Typically, alcohol withdrawal symptoms happen for heavier drinkers. Alcohol withdrawal can begin within hours of ending a drinking session. While cirrhosis scars from excessive drinking are irreversible, quitting alcohol and leading a healthier lifestyle can help your liver heal from alcohol-related liver disease. Throughout the night, your brain will cycle through all of the sleep stages multiple times to give you a good night’s rest.

sleep without alcohol

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

  • Such effects lead people to feel that they did not get enough sleep.
  • As alcohol starts to leave your system, there’s a rebound effect which stimulates your brain and disrupts your sleep cycle.
  • Of course, not everyone who drinks has a problem, but a break from alcohol can allow people to consider how much they’re drinking and why.
  • A 2019 study showed that individuals who sleep for under 6 hours each night have a 20% higher chance of heart attack than individuals who sleep between 6 and 9 hours.
  • It is characterized by difficulty falling or staying asleep, which can lead to daytime drowsiness, trouble concentrating, and other negative health effects.

However, researchers do not agree on how alcohol interferes with REM sleep. Research from 2020 states that alcohol reduces sleep quality, and while it may not significantly reduce REM sleep, there is dysregulation. Drinking alcohol can contribute to a variety of cognitive issues, including poor memory, slow reaction time, sleep without alcohol impaired impulse control, and poor concentration. Over time, drinking can also damage nerve cells and contribute to a loss of brain volume. The first day is always the hardest, but it’s also an important milestone. After 24 hours without alcohol, your body will start to detoxify and you may experience withdrawal symptoms.

  • Many who abuse alcohol often do it well into the night and oversleep into the next day.
  • In other cases, long-term alcohol exposure can increase a person’s risk of developing a psychiatric illness.
  • If this is the case, try to find some relaxing way to ease your mind when you go to bed.
  • One study shows that this is the reason about 10% of people drink alcohol.

Being Compassionate May Help You Sleep Easier At Night

sleep without alcohol

But both studies found CBT-I didn’t help prevent relapse, https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-reasons-for-you-to-stay-sober/ so you may need further treatments and support for this.

sleep without alcohol

Minimize Sleep Disruptions

sleep without alcohol

Sleeping Less Than 7 Hours Per Night Linked to Higher Risk of Death in People With Sleep Apnea