As many as 15% of people drink a little bit of alcohol before bed, thinking that it will help them sleep better. But despite how popular this practice is, the simple truth is that alcohol can hurt the quality of your slumber – especially if you’re already suffering from sleep-disordered breathing. What is the connection between alcohol and sleep apnea, and what can you do to make sure you get a good night’s rest? The following post has the answers.
How Alcohol Affects Sleep
Alcohol does have sedative properties that can make you fall asleep more quickly. However, its effectiveness is short-lived; after just a few days of drinking before bed, your body will build up a tolerance to alcohol, meaning it will no longer work as a sleep aid.
Furthermore, alcohol can disrupt the sleep cycle, causing you to spend less time in the REM stage of sleep. As such, even if you gave yourself enough time for a full night’s rest, you may still wake up feeling drowsy the next day.
The Link Between Alcohol and Sleep Apnea
The negative effects of alcohol on sleep are even worse if you’re already suffering from sleep apnea. Much of the time, sleep apnea is the result of muscles in your throat collapsing and blocking the airway. Alcohol can make throat muscles relax even further, causing sleep apnea events to happen more often and leading to even more severe symptoms. Over the long term, alcohol combined with sleep apnea can have a major detrimental impact on your health.
What Should You Do If You Have Sleep Apnea?
If you know or suspect that you have sleep apnea, one of the first things you need to do is stop drinking at night. Giving up alcohol altogether would be ideal, but at the very least you should avoid it for at least a couple of hours before you start getting ready for bed.
Meanwhile, you should take the necessary steps to have your sleep disorder diagnosed. Once it has been confirmed that you have sleep apnea, you can start exploring appropriate forms of treatment. If you don’t want to use a CPAP machine, your sleep dentist may be able to offer you oral appliance therapy as an alternative. A custom-made oral appliance can shift your lower jaw forward to help keep your airway open while you sleep.
Ignoring sleep apnea can have dire consequences, so if you think you might have this disorder, you should take whatever steps are necessary to improve the quality of your sleep. In addition to giving up alcohol in the evening, your sleep dentist might suggest other lifestyle changes to help you get a good night’s rest again.
About the Author
Dr. Dean Hutto is a proud native of the Baytown area. He graduated from the University of Texas Dental School in Houston in 1992, and today he’s a proud member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. At Sleep Better Baytown, he offers customized oral appliances as an alternative to traditional CPAP therapy. If you think you might have sleep apnea, you can schedule a consultation with Dr. Hutto by visiting his website or calling (281) 422-8249.