You might be aware that alcohol can disrupt a good night’s sleep. But there’s another daily habit that might be just as harmful, if not more—late night screen time. Let’s explore how both alcohol and screen time impact your rest, and see which one might be the bigger disruptor.
Drinking alcohol might help you zonk out, but it’s the quality of your sleep that counts. According to neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, while alcohol can make you drowsy, it leads to less restful sleep. In his podcast, he highlights how alcohol inhibits REM sleep, which is crucial for a healthy brain. Other research backs this up, showing that alcohol can interrupt your sleep cycle, making you feel less refreshed when we wake up.
Screen time, particularly the blue light from our devices, has its own set of issues. Dr. Huberman points out in his newsletter how blue light exposure in the evening can mess with your natural sleep rhythms. It reduces your production of melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep. The National Sleep Foundation agrees; they state that using screens before bed can make it harder to fall asleep, and that it hurts sleep quality.
So, which is the real sleep thief, alcohol or screen time? While alcohol affects the quality of sleep, screen time’s disruption of your natural sleep rhythms might have deeper, more prolonged effects on your sleep patterns. The chronic interference of blue light with your natural sleep-wake cycle might edge out alcohol consumption. So, if you’re aiming for better sleep, try a two pronged approach. First, limit your alcohol consumption, particularly in the evening. Consider having a calming mocktail as your nightcap instead. Second, put your phone away at least one hour before bedtime.
If you’re trying to improve your sleep by cutting down on alcohol, it’s also worth looking at your screen habits. The screens that we often use late into the night could be also ruining your chances of restful sleep. Balancing your evening routine—by limiting alcohol and reducing screen time before bed—might be the key to unlocking deeper, more rejuvenating sleep.
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Dry Atlas is a media company focused on alcohol alternatives. We deliver non-alc insights, news, and recs to over five million people annually. To stay up to date on all things non-alc, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
