The Impact of Alcohol on Your Sleep

It's important to get a good night's sleep for our health. Many people have a drink to help them relax and fall asleep, but while alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it ends up disturbing the quality and quantity of your sleep.

When we drink alcohol, it affects not only our body but also our brain. It might make us feel relaxed, but it also messes with our thinking and sleep patterns. So, while it might seem like a good idea, it can have massive consequences in the short and long run.

Let's take a closer look at how alcohol affects our sleep.

Alcohol and sleep pattern

Drinking alcohol might help you fall asleep faster, but it reduces the amount of time in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep. This is the stage of sleep where your brain is more active and where you have vivid dreams. This stage of sleep helps with memory, problem-solving, and keeping your emotions regulated. 

When you drink, you get less of this important REM sleep in the early part of the night.This means you end up with a night of disrupted and less restful sleep, which can leave you feeling tired the next day. In the long term, not getting enough REM sleep can hurt your concentration, learning, and mood control.

Alcohol and hormones

Drinking alcohol hurts our sleep and health by causing an imbalance of our hormones, such as growth hormone - what we use to repair cells and build muscle - and melatonin - what tells our brain it’s time to sleep. 

Alcohol also affects our cortisol - the “stress hormone”. For us to sleep better our bodies lower our cortisol levels to improve our sleep. Alongside cortisol, alcohol impacts ghrelin - a hormone that controls the feeling of hunger and leptin, which controls our feeling of fullness. This increases our cravings for unhealthy foods, makes us feel hungrier and less satisfied after eating. 

Conclusion

Sleep is a huge factor in the way we perform - both physically and mentally, while being critical for our overall health. 

Alcohol throws off our hormone balances, making it harder to perform, eat healthy and ensure we get adequate recovery that we need to achieve fat loss and muscle gain goals.

While there can be benefits in drinking alcohol, such as socializing, we should avoid making it too regular.

At Daily Body Coach, we're focused on maximizing your performance while ensuring your process is enjoyable and sustainable - book your free call here!