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When a person has sleep apnea, they have interrupted breathing during the night. The condition is linked to fatigue as well as serious cardiovascular conditions like heart attack and stroke. A person might think that having a drink before bed may help them sleep because alcohol helps them relax. Because of drinking’s negative impact on sleep cycles, a person does not sleep as well if they drink before bed. They may turn to alcohol to reduce their anxiety symptoms, which also increases insomnia, exacerbating their anxious feelings. Additionally, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption is always the best practice for minimizing sleep disruptions or health concerns.
- This process of powering up and then slowing down helps to further slow activity in the brain.
- If you have your wine, beer or whiskey before bed, the artificial depressant may help you initially slip into a Deep sleep, but unfortunately it will keep you there for several hours.
- Long-term alcohol use negatively affects REM cycles and decreases sleep quality.
- At post-treatment, the relaxation group reported better sleep quality than the control group on a 10-point rating scale.
If alcohol is interfering with your health or your personal, financial, or professional life, consider quitting. This article discusses alcohol withdrawal, its symptoms, and potential complications. It also provides an overview of the alcohol withdrawal timeline process and when to discuss your drinking with your healthcare provider. Even though supplements and medications can help tremendously for alcohol withdrawal insomnia, they are not necessary in every case. In other cases, they are necessary, but not sufficient to guarantee that you get the best night’s sleep possible.
Quit Drinking And Can’t Sleep? What Causes This?
Some of these solutions were serendipitous discoveries that I found through a process of trial and error. Others were gathered from a variety of reputable books and studies on the subject of nutritional repair for alcoholism and insomnia. Since insomnia is merely a symptom of biochemical imbalance caused by prolonged drinking and/or withdrawal, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. I know this because I’m now an average person who has occasional insomnia. Fortunately, the remedies I’m about to share with you still work for me to this day.
The liver acts as a filtering system for the body, helping metabolize food and chemicals (including alcohol itself), and pulling toxins from the bloodstream. Like nearly all of the body’s organs, the liver functions according to circadian rhythms. Alcohol interferes with these circadian rhythms regulating the liver, can’t sleep without alcohol and can contribute to compromised liver function, liver toxicity, and disease. Alcohol is the most common sleep aid—at least 20 percent of American adults rely on it for help falling asleep. But the truth is, drinking regularly—even moderate drinking—is much more likely to interfere with your sleep than to assist it.
Other general adverse effects
Find an activity that puts your mind at ease, such as yoga, cooking, watching tv, reading, or listening to music. These calming activities that you love will help you resist temptations like drinking alcohol. Taking a nice, hot bath or shower is a fantastic alternative for alcohol for sleep. The application of hot water to the skin helps open pores and facilitates blood flow and muscular relaxation.
Don’t let the fear of insomnia or other effects from alcohol cessation discourage you from seeking sobriety. With professional assistance, withdrawal and other side effects can be managed and you can achieve the quality of life you deserve. There are also several steps you can take to improve your quality of sleep and quality of life. Some you can adopt on your own, and some are under the supervision of a health professional.
