Why Your Sleep Gets Worse Before It Gets Better
Welcome to Journey to the Sunny Side, the podcast where we have thoughtful conversations to explore the science of habits, uncover the secrets to mindful living, and of course, your own mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunny Side, the number one alcohol moderation platform. And if you could benefit from drinking a bit less, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. I'm your host, Mike Hardinbrook, published author, neuroscience enthusiast, and habit change expert. Everyone knows alcohol messes with your sleep, but nobody really talks about what happens when you actually start to drink less.
Speaker 1:Because here's the weird part, your sleep might actually get worse before it gets better. So today I'm gonna break down what happens, how long it really takes for your brain and your body to reset, and what you can do in the meantime. Whether you're moderating or taking a full break, I got some fresh science, practical tips, and hopefully a bit of encouragement for you as well. So let's get into it. Welcome back to Journey to the Sunnyside.
Speaker 1:I'm Mike Hartenbrook, and today I wanna get into something that nearly everyone brings up when they start cutting back or taking a break when it comes to alcohol, and that is sleep because it is very precious. Now look. Everybody knows that alcohol messes with your sleep. You've probably heard it hundreds of times, seen the studies, all that. No epiphany here.
Speaker 1:But here's something that happens to a lot of people, and in fact, most people. So let's say that you are just starting your mindful drinking journey or you're taking a break, whichever one this episode is going to be relevant. So let's say you skip the drinks and you do everything right that night. You get in bed early, and then suddenly, you're tossing and turning. You're not sleeping well.
Speaker 1:You might fall asleep, but you're waking up. And, you're at this 3AM staring at the ceiling maybe. Your mind is racing. And this is very confusing to people because often, it's the nights when you start making these changes, the nights that you don't drink, that your sleep feels even more wrecked sometimes. And that's one of the biggest frustrations and also a big reason why many people give up changing their drinking.
Speaker 1:They think, you know, if I'm gonna sleep this bad anyway, why bother? I actually would rather just have the drinks and fall asleep easily. So in this episode, I wanna break down what's actually happening in your body and your brain, why your sleep might get worse before it actually gets better, how long it really takes to reset, and what you can do, whether you're moderating or taking a break, to support better sleep. So let's get into it. Alright.
Speaker 1:Let's start with the basics. Everyone knows that alcohol is like a sedative. You know, it knocks you out. It makes you fall asleep much faster and easier, and that's called reducing your sleep latency. But under the hood, alcohol actually does two big things.
Speaker 1:So number one is it blocks REM sleep, which is the restorative dream stage. And it also shortens deep, slow wave sleep, which is where your body repairs tissue, it balances hormones, and resets immune function. Then as your liver breaks down the alcohol overnight, your body goes through what's basically a mini withdraw. So your heart rate climbs, your body temperature rises, your cortisol and adrenaline kick in. And that's why so many people wake up around three or 4AM feeling anxious, maybe your mind is racing.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, alcohol, it does knock you out, but it doesn't give you that kind of sleep that actually restores your body and your brain. Now here's a part of that story that almost no one really talks about. You see all these social media clips where people are saying how alcohol affects your sleep, but there's parts that they don't say. And this is huge for anybody that's moderating and taking more nights off. And it's not just the night you drink.
Speaker 1:And for a lot of people, the worst sleep actually hits the night or two after when you didn't even drink. And here's why. So number one is, as I mentioned, alcohol suppresses your REM sleep, and this also actually changes your brain chemistry. It messes with things like neurotransmitters, GABA, which is your calming effect, and you have glutamate, which is more of your excitatory effect. And when it's finally out of your system, your brain tries to overcorrect, and it often packs in extra REM.
Speaker 1:And so you get more vivid dreams maybe, some weird stuff, maybe stressful dreams. Plus it also begins to fragment your sleep, so you're waking up more often. Meanwhile, glutamate might still be elevated, so your brain's a little bit too switched on. In addition to that, your stress system is also recalibrating. And in fact, research on alcohol and cortisol shows that your body often overproduces cortisol the next night or two after drinking, even on the nights that you don't drink.
Speaker 1:So you might pop up in the early hours, maybe anxious, wondering, what the heck is going on with me? And it's easy to think, you know, I was sleeping better before when I was actually drinking. Like, what's the point? But this is actually your nervous system doing the hard work to reset your body, and it's doing exactly what it should be. So the question usually comes up is, how long does it take for this to normalize?
Speaker 1:Now most people give it a week, maybe two, and when their sleep is still not great, they figure it's not working. But if you look at sleep studies, they ran an EEG data at a researcher's group called ColRan, and it shows that typically it takes two to six weeks for your brain to rebuild normal sleep architecture after regular drinking. That means that your REM cycles stabilize, the slow wave sleep deepens, and your resting heart rate comes down, and cortisol finds its proper rhythm again. And they even pulled from wearable data, things like a whoop or an aura ring. Resting heart rate at night can slightly be elevated for five to ten days after a heavy drinking night.
Speaker 1:So what if you're moderating instead of taking a full break? Because obviously, it's disruptive even on the nights you don't drink. If you're spacing out your drinks, you're having fewer total drinks and more alcohol free nights, your sleep will absolutely improve over time. The fewer nights that you drink, the more chances your brain has to rebuild a stable sleep cycle. And it might just take a little bit longer than it would going full break alcohol free because your body's still adjusting in between the nights that you do drink.
Speaker 1:But here's the good news. Reducing your total intake at a single sitting or drinking less often is gonna lower these disruptions. And in fact, studies consistently show that these sleep effects that are negative are something called dose dependent, meaning that the less alcohol that you have overall, the less your REM sleep and deep sleep are impacted. So whether you're moderating or taking a break, you're still moving in the right direction towards restorative sleep. It just takes patience and consistency, and consistency is the key to this whole thing, to see it really start to pay off and notice it.
Speaker 1:Okay. So here are a few things that you can do to also assist you along the way. And the first one is time your last drink wisely. You may have heard of this, but this is an important one. If you're moderating, try to stop drinking at least three to four hours before bedtime.
Speaker 1:It takes about an hour per drink for your body to metabolize that, and that means that your blood alcohol can get close to zero by the time that you fall asleep, if you're moderating, of course, which is minimizing the overnight spike in your heart rate and your stress hormones. The next thing you can do is keep your blood sugar steady in the evenings. So you want to have a balanced dinner with a protein, a healthy fat, and fiber, and try to avoid big sugary desserts or heavy snacks right before bed. And continuous glucose monitoring studies show that these late night spikes often lead to a sharp dip a few hours later. This is gonna trigger your cortisol and your adrenaline, and that's a top reason why people wake up around two or 3AM in the morning.
Speaker 1:And that's gonna be even more noticeable when your body is still recalibrating from drinking. Another thing you can do is cool down your body. Your core temperature needs to drop by at least one to two Fahrenheit to fall into deep sleep. And alcohol, well, that makes it a lot harder because it disrupts thermoregulation. So keep your bedroom cool.
Speaker 1:Some people talk about doing cold showers. That might be too invigorating for some people. There's also studies that show it knocks some people out. Might just be something to keep in mind, and I wanted to toss it in there. But these little shifts, especially like a cool room, is a really simple thing that most of us can do.
Speaker 1:And then the last thing you could try is some natural supplements, things like magnesium and valerian. Of course, I'm not giving any sort of advice in this way. I'm just providing information. Best to consult with your healthcare professional if that's right for you. But things like magnesium, especially in the glycinate form, can help regulate GABA, and that's gonna be that calming neurotransmitter that alcohol messes with.
Speaker 1:And low magnesium is linked to lighter sleep and and more restless sleep. I know that I take magnesium glycinate every single night in as high of dose as my body can take, and it has been tremendous for my sleep without that grogginess the next day. Another one you can try is Valerian. You know, you see this in most places at the drugstore, probably in some of those nighttime sleepy teas, and it's been used for centuries for sleep and mild anxiety. And it works by slightly increasing your GABA, and it doesn't leave you groggy the next day.
Speaker 1:Of course, if you're on meds, check with your doctor. But for most people, these are non habit forming, well tolerated supplements that can make a big difference. Okay, so here's the big takeaway. If your sleep feels rocky right now, it doesn't mean that anything's wrong. It actually means that your brain is doing exactly what it needs to do in order to heal.
Speaker 1:So whether you're cutting back with a structured plan like Sunnyside, you're spacing out your drinks, or you're taking a full break, give it at least a few weeks of this consistency. And once our system resets, you start to get into real restorative sleep, which makes such a big difference in every aspect of our life. You know, your slow wave cycles will be deeper, fewer early morning wake ups, lower resting heart rate, and way less of that wired but tired feeling, and that's gonna affect everything from your habits to your decision making. And just remember, it's a long game, and most people never see it because they judge the process way too early. So whether you're right now moderating or stacking up more alcohol free nights or doing a full month off, just remember, it's gonna pay off even if it's not just immediately noticeable.
Speaker 1:That's it for today. And by the way, we get thousands of people listening to every single one of these episodes. And quite honestly, that blows my mind, and it's very humbling. But only a tiny fraction actually take the time to leave a review. So if you could be that supportive friend for me and take a minute to rate and review the podcast wherever you're listening, it would mean the world to me, and it helps more than you know.
Speaker 1:Thanks for hanging out with me today. I hope you have a beautiful week, and cheers to your mindful drinking journey. This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the number one alcohol moderation platform, having helped hundreds of thousands of people cut out more than 13,000,000 drinks since 2020. And in fact, an independent study showed that Sunnyside reduced alcohol consumption by an average of 30% in ninety days. And as one of our members shared, Sunnyside helps me stay mindful of my drinking habits.
Speaker 1:It's not super restrictive. So if I'm craving a glass of wine with dinner, I just track it and I move on with my week. If you could benefit from drinking a bit less and being more mindful of when and how much you drink, head on over to sunnyside.co to get a free fifteen day trial. You'll get access to everything that we offer, including tracking and planning tools, coaching from our experts, a vibrant community of people just like you, and the motivation and advice to stay on track with your health goals, all with no pressure to quit. That's sunnyside.co.
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