According to a study undertaken in 2021, many of us rely on a quick drink before bed. Whether it’s wine or a short of their chosen spirit, 25% of respondents said that they were partial to a nightcap to help aid them into a deep sleep.
However, while it may feel like you’re having a deeper sleep, you’re actually impacting the quality of the sleep that you’re having, according to NHS surgeon Dr Karan Raj, ‘alcohol messes up your REM sleep’.
Why does alcohol affect sleep?
According to The Sleep Foundation, ‘alcohol may help with sleep onset due to it’s sedative properties, allowing you to sleep more quickly’ but those who drink before bed will often experience disruptions later in their sleep cycle as the body begins to metabolise alcohol.
These disruptions can then lead to more fatigued feelings throughout the day and other issues. In fact, the impacts of chronic sleep loss can include an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.
Additionally, while less alcohol means less of an impact on sleep, if you’re habitually having a nightcap to help you drift off, your body will build up a tolerance for alcohol that will result in you needing to drink more in order to feel the sedative effects.
Ideally, according to the foundation, you should stop drinking alcohol around four hours before bed to minimise the impact on the quality of your sleep.
Other habits that are impacting your sleep
According to Dr Raj, a nightcap isn’t the only culprit for impacting our sleep. He also outlined four other habits that could be disrupting a healthy sleeping pattern.
Having a ‘big meal’ before bedtime.
According to Dr Raj, it takes 90 minutes for 50% of your stomach to empty into the small intestines. He adds that the more full your stomach is, the more likely you’ll experience acid reflux. He advises that your last big meal of the day is 2-3 hours before bed.
Chugging water right before bed.
When you’re asleep, your body increases the production of ADH which suppresses your need to pee. If you drink lots of water right before bed, you could be suppressing the production of this hormone causing you to wake up more because you need to pee, ruining your sleep.
Sleeping in a hot room
According to the surgeon, our body temperature drops around 7pm and as the night goes on, this causes us to feel more sleepy throughout the evening. This is when the body produces melatonin which helps us sleep. Basically, Rajan says that ‘our body needs to be cooler to sleep faster’.
Consuming caffeine too close to bedtime
It turns out that caffeine doesn’t actually make us feel more alert, it actually makes us feel less sleepy as it prevents the accumulation of the sleep molecule. Dr Raj says if you struggle with sleep, you might want to skip the afternoon coffee.