A few weeks ago you referenced the health and weight benefits of quitting alcohol. You didn’t reference sleep. I find a few drinks help me fall asleep faster, but I am always tired, making exercise feel like torture. Is my fatigue linked to the wine?
We become fatigued from many things. I suffer from City of Johannesburg fatigue, made worse by political news fatigue. But alcohol’s effect on sleep is a far more important discussion than feeling “worn out” reading about the banal mediocrity that’s been normalised in pockets of our country.
Sleep is probably the most overlooked aspect of a healthy body and fulfilling life. In an age in which we need to be awake to “get ahead”, sleep is seen as something you’re forced to do when tired. Yet, it isn’t some annoyance that happens nightly, it is a restorative process that is fundamental to how our bodies work.
Quick Google searches will link exercise and wellbeing to healthy sleep. You’ll read about recovery and much more. First-hand, my training, mood and effectiveness at work are directly related to the quality of my sleep.
You’re right, alcohol will help you fall asleep. Too much alcohol will make you fall asleep when you shouldn’t. However, don’t be lulled into thinking you are recovering properly or even really resting during sleep that’s influenced by the presence of alcohol.
I have Irish heritage. Whenever I travel to Ireland I am astounded at the volume of alcohol that almost everyone seems to consume. It’s a stereotype, sure, but it’s one that’s based on some degree of truth. It’s through this lens that a recent column in Irish Examiner by Jonathan deBurca Butler grabbed my attention.
The author, with that world-leading, self-deprecating humour of the Irish, discusses his experiment with Dry January and the effect it had on his body. His belly reduced in size, he felt better, his face was less puffy and his sleep — and therefore his energy and mood — improved remarkably.
He ends the column with this paragraph: “With more money in my pocket, less fat in my belly and less anxiety in my head, I toy with the idea of stopping for a whole year. But not for long. By 5pm on St Brigid’s Day, I’m sitting at the bar in my local with a newspaper and a pint of stout. It turns out to be one of the most satisfying pints I’ve ever had.”
Let’s look at why the author felt better and what you are probably experiencing with the wine. Alcohol will, at first, appear to be improving your sleep through reduced sleep onset latency: as you have experienced, you fall asleep faster.
However, alcohol disrupts the natural sleep cycle by suppressing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is crucial for memory, emotional processing and feeling rested the next morning. The more you drink the shorter your REM sleep. You will probably have more restless and fragmented sleep, especially later in the night as the alcohol levels in your blood drop.
Alcohol has also been shown to interfere with slow-wave sleep — deep, restorative non-REM sleep. It also tends to worsen conditions such as sleep apnea by relaxing throat muscles, interrupting sleep even further. Chronic long-term drinking increases the risk of developing insomnia. The result? Next-day fatigue, reduced focus, mood imbalances such as anxiety or increased stress and much more.
When you quit alcohol, many, if not all of these symptoms reverse. It doesn’t happen overnight and the initial shock to the system may increase insomnia. However, within a few days sleep improves and the body and brain start to recover.
It’s not surprising Butler enjoyed such noticeable improvements in his life within a month. He writes: “The biggest benefit was a noticeable decrease in my levels of anxiety. I still worried about the same things — work, family, money, Celtic’s lack of activity in the transfer market — but the physical manifestations of those anxieties, whether it’s tension in the body, mild palpitations or stomach pain, were simply not as evident.”
It’s up to you to decide what to do with this information. However, whatever you decide, consider seeing sleep as equally important, if not more important, than your diet and exercise regimen.
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