SleepShred
Get the app

Alcohol: sedative first, saboteur second

Falls you asleep faster, then fragments the second half of the night and suppresses REM.

Alcohol shortens sleep onset — which is why it feels like it helps — then wears off mid-night, rebounding into lighter, fragmented sleep with suppressed REM. In 4,098 people wearing HR sensors, even low intake reduced night-time heart-rate variability ~9%; heavy intake ~40%. Galpin's clients see it as a resting-heart-rate spike.

Track drinks and the time of the last one; nights after alcohol are compared with the rest in Trends.

Sources · 3

Alcohol and sleep IEbrahim IO, Shapiro CM, Williams AJ, Fenwick PB · 2013Alcohol shortens sleep onset but suppresses REM and fragments the second half of the night.Acute effect of alcohol intake on cardiovascular autonomic regulation during the first…Pietilä J, Helander E, Korhonen I, Myllymäki T, Kujala UM, Lindholm H · 2018In 4,098 people, even 'low' alcohol intake cut sleep HRV by ~9%; high intake by ~40%, more so in fit and young people.Sleep, sleepiness, and alcohol useRoehrs T, Roth T · 2001Review: alcohol's sedative effect fades quickly and rebounds into lighter, more disrupted sleep.

Related topics

Alcohol

Frequently asked questions

Alcohol: sedative first, saboteur second?

Falls you asleep faster, then fragments the second half of the night and suppresses REM.

Is SleepShred free?

No. SleepShred Pro is $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year, with no free trial and no ads. Everything stays on your iPhone.

Track it, don't guess it

SleepShred turns this research into a 20-second daily habit: log your night, see which of your own behaviours move your sleep, and screen for the disorders nobody diagnoses.

Get SleepShred for iPhone

Educational summary of published research, not medical advice. Screening scores are not diagnoses. If a score is elevated or you feel unwell, talk to a clinician.