Relationship Between Alcohol And Sleep Apnea
Key Takeaways
- Alcohol can have a significant impact on sleep apnea because of its multitude of side effects.
- Alcohol consumption can cause an individual to snore because it relaxes the muscles around the airway, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, causing pauses in sleeping.
- It also increases the chance of snoring and disrupts the natural sleeping pattern, worsening the risks or symptoms of sleep apnea.
This post was originally posted on October 13,2021, and updated on January 19, 2022.
While alcohol seems like an ideal aid for falling asleep, it actually inhibits healthy sleep and may induce sleep disorders like sleep apnea. The different stages of sleep are important for getting the rest you need to recharge your mind and body. These phases of sleep can be disrupted by alcohol use. Alcohol can also affect normal breathing while asleep. If you drink alcohol on a regular basis, it’s best to understand the impact it may be having on your sleep patterns.
Low Doses of Alcohol Helps Sleep
Some studies have found that low quantities of alcohol may help some people fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply for a while. However, the full cycle of healthy sleep is still disrupted. Alcohol prevents the deepest level of sleep known as rapid eye movement (REM). REM is essential for a more restful and rejuvenating sleep. The more alcohol you drink, the more REM is disrupted.
Effects of Alcohol on the Four Different Stages of Sleep
To better understand how alcohol affects sleep, we need to look at the four different stages of non-REM or quiet sleep. Each stage takes you deeper into sleep and alcohol influences how well you move through each stage during the night toward the deepest stage, which is REM sleep.
Stage 1 (NREM)
Stage 1 transitions you from wakefulness to sleep and lasts around 5 to 10 minutes. Alcohol can induce Stage 1 more quickly.
Stage 2 (NREM)
In Stage 2, the body temperature drops, and the heart rate slows, which lasts about 20 minutes. Alcohol can prolong Stage 2.
Stage 3 (NREM)
In Stage 3, muscles become fully relaxed and breathing rates and blood pressure rates drop as the body moves into REM sleep. Alcohol can prolong Stage 3.
REM
During REM sleep, your brain becomes more active, your body more relaxed and your eyes move rapidly. It is at this stage of sleep that dreams occur. While alcohol helps achieve NREM sleep faster and sustains these early stages, it disrupts critical REM sleep, the deepest level needed. In essence, alcohol keeps you in a state of sedation that is not quite sleep. Never achieving REM on a nightly basis has long-term effects on health.
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol on Sleep
Regular alcohol use before bedtime can have lasting effects on your sleep health. You may find yourself drowsy during the day, even after a long period of sleep. You may experience poor concentration during the day as the brain has never fully recharged and you become sleep deprived.
Do Low Doses of Alcohol Help with Insomnia?
Those suffering from insomnia may think a nightcap can help. But while alcohol gets you to sleep faster, the effects of alcohol are more likely to wake you up in the middle of the night. Alcohol may help overcome the initial difficulty of falling asleep, but those with insomnia will still experience sleep deprivation and sleeplessness by never getting the REM sleep they need.
Direct Effects of Alcohol on Sleep Apnea
If you have sleep apnea, drinking alcohol before bedtime will only make it worse. Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles which can increase the frequency of apneas. If you are using CPAP therapy for your sleep apnea, you are working against the health benefits of therapy by reaching for a drink.
How are Alcohol and Sleep Deprivation Related?
Excessive alcohol consumption never allows your brain to achieve the necessary REM sleep stage for healthy rejuvenation and recharge that we need as humans. NREM sleep alone is not healthy sleep. Over the long term, you begin to lose sleep and start to feel the ill effects of sleep deprivation.
Alcohol and Insomnia
Because alcohol disrupts natural deep REM sleep, it can lead to erratic sleep patterns. Insomnia can be made worse as alcohol allows for short periods of NREM sleep, that leave you awake for extended periods, often at night.
Alcohol and Daytime Fatigue
Without REM sleep, you may begin to experience daytime fatigue. Drowsiness during the day after what is perceived to be a period of sleep can affect concentration, memory, and mood. Daytime fatigue may also lead to daytime napping, to make up for lost sleep, which can cause insomnia at night.
Alcohol Moderation for Sleep Apnea
If you are currently managing sleep apnea or have been recently diagnosed, you do not have to give up on alcohol entirely. Use alcohol in moderation and be sure not to drink several hours before your bedtime. These best practices allow you to enjoy a drink or two and still successfully achieve a good night’s rest.
Conclusion
For more information on sleep apnea, including best practices and sleep apnea equipment needs, speak to our knowledgeable staff at The CPAP Shop. We offer CPAP machines from leading manufacturers and can help you make the best equipment purchase.
The CPAP Shop teamed up with Dr. Vidya Pai, an experienced sleep medicine specialist, to write this blog post. Our team of authors and medical experts frequently evaluates our blog posts so that readers can learn factual information and make knowledge-based decisions. Our blogs are constantly updated with the most accurate information to provide the most up-to-date facts and research.
While alcohol seems like an ideal aid for falling asleep, it actually inhibits healthy sleep and may induce sleep disorders like sleep apnea. The different stages of sleep are important for getting the rest you need to recharge your mind and body. These phases of sleep can be disrupted by alcohol use. Alcohol can also affect normal breathing while asleep. If you drink alcohol on a regular basis, it’s best to understand the impact it may be having on your sleep patterns.
What is the Impact of Alcohol on Sleep Apnea?
Alcohol can negatively impact sleep apnea in many ways. Not only can it increase the severity of sleep apnea symptoms, but alcohol can also give sleep apnea patients longer-lasting breathing interruptions and therefore increases their apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Here are a few reasons why alcohol can worsen sleep apnea symptoms:
- Longer breathing obstructions: Alcohol can make it more difficult for a person to wake up, resulting in longer and more severe breathing obstructions to help someone wake up.
- Throat muscles relax: Drinking alcohol relaxes the muscles around the throat, neck, and mouth, causing looser tissues to block the airway, making it harder to breathe.
- Nasal congestion: Alcohol can also change the blood vessels in the nose, resulting in congestion. This makes it harder to breathe and also puts more pressure on the airway.
How Does Alcohol Affect Sleep?
Drinking alcohol too close to bedtime will impact the quality and length of sleep a person is getting. Because alcohol is considered a sedative, a person will fall asleep quicker and harder then normal, resulting in a destabilization of the typical sleep cycle.
This could cause a person to wake up more tired, have a headache, and have other negative symptoms as well. Here are the steps to a typical night's sleep that could be altered:
- Stage 1 - N1: Transitions a person from wakefulness to sleep. Alcohol induces this stage more quickly.
- Stage 2 - N2: A person's body temperature drops and their heart rate slows. Alcohol can prolong this stage.
- Stage 3 - N3: Muscles are fully relaxed and breathing rate decreases. Alcohol can prolong this stage.
- Stage 4 - REM: A person's brain becomes more active and eyes move more rapidly. it is the deepest level needed. Alcohol disrupts this stage, which could cause a long-term effect on health.
Long-Term Effects of Alcohol
Regular alcohol use before bedtime can have lasting effects on your sleep health. You may find yourself drowsy during the day, even after a long period of sleep. You may experience poor concentration during the day as the brain has never fully recharged and you become sleep deprived.
Alcohol and Sleep Deprivation
Excessive alcohol consumption never allows your brain to achieve the necessary REM sleep stage for healthy rejuvenation and recharge that we need as humans. NREM sleep alone is not healthy sleep. Over the long term, you begin to lose sleep and start to feel the ill effects of sleep deprivation.
Alcohol and Insomnia
Because alcohol disrupts natural deep REM sleep, it can lead to erratic sleep patterns. Insomnia can be made worse as alcohol allows for short periods of NREM sleep, which leaves you awake for extended periods, often at night.
Does Alcohol Help with Insomnia?
Those suffering from insomnia may think a nightcap can help. But while alcohol gets you to sleep faster, the effects of alcohol are more likely to wake you up in the middle of the night. Many people with insomnia who drink before sleep still experience sleep deprivation and sleeplessness by never getting the REM sleep they need.
Alcohol and Daytime Fatigue
Without REM sleep, you may begin to experience daytime fatigue. Drowsiness during the day after what is perceived to be a period of sleep can affect concentration, memory, and mood. Daytime fatigue may also lead to daytime napping, to make up for lost sleep, which can cause insomnia at night.
Alcohol Moderation for Sleep Apnea
If you are currently managing sleep apnea or have been recently diagnosed, you do not have to give up on alcohol entirely. Use alcohol in moderation and be sure not to drink several hours before your bedtime. These best practices allow you to enjoy a drink or two and still successfully achieve a good night’s rest.
Sleep Apnea Tips
There are many steps patients with sleep apnea can take to live a better, healthier life. Here are a few:
- Use treatment consistently: Those who suffer from sleep apnea can get effective treatment through the use of a CPAP machine. CPAP machines use pressurized air to keep a person's airway open while sleeping.
- Change lifestyle habits: To avoid or improve some sleep apnea symptoms, lifestyle changes can be made. These include exercising, eating healthier, not consuming alcohol or smoking, and more.
- Get quality sleep: Having a healthy sleeping habit and a proper bedtime routine can positively impact those who have sleep apnea.
Conclusion
For more information on sleep apnea, including best practices and sleep apnea equipment needs, speak to our knowledgeable staff at The CPAP Shop. We offer CPAP machines, masks, and other products from leading manufacturers and can help you find the best products to suit your needs. Give us a call at 866-414-9700 today!
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