Sleep is important for our health and well being. In fact, we can’t live without it. So what happens when alcohol interferes with your sleep?

Alcohol can affect the quality of your sleep.

Alcohol interferes with the normal sleep process.  While drinking alcohol before bedtime may help you fall asleep in the short term, it can affect the quality of your sleep. It can also disrupt your sleep cycles, resulting in early morning waking.

This can mean you feel much less rested than you normally would. Lack of sleep or poor sleep can affect your health and quality of life.  It may cause fatigue, affect your concentration and memory, act as a trigger for some mental health problems and/or affect daytime alertness and performance.  Ultimately, you may be less productive and more prone to accidents.

Together with good nutrition and proper exercise, sleep is a key component of good health.

Alcohol also has a diuretic effect, which means it tends to make you pass more urine. For this reason, you may have to get up during the night to go to the toilet which can lead to a more disturbed night’s sleep.