Alcohol: What It's Really Doing to Your Sleep

Now that we've looked at stress, let's talk about another factor that affects sleep and recovery: alcohol.

This was the last day in the series! Alcohol can be such a touchy subject. I know that I never wanted to hear that it was bad for my training or sleep. I love going out and socialising with a few drinks! But the thing is, if you want to elevate your training, you can't pretend it doesn't affect you.

You don't have to give it up completely. Knowledge is power and you can use it to notice how it fits into your life. If you spot where it might be holding you back, you can re-evaluate and adjust your habits.

First, let's see how it might affect us and then look at how to manage it.

After a couple of drinks, you might feel sleepy and fall asleep quickly, but the sleep you get can be affected without you fully noticing.

A review study shows that alcohol disrupts sleep architecture by decreasing REM sleep in the first half of the night while increasing deep sleep. This might sound like a good thing, but it isn't, because in the second half of the night, sleep becomes fragmented, decreasing overall quality.

What this means for runners

As we've seen before, deep sleep is when your body restores muscle tissue, balances hormones, and consolidates energy stores. Running performance suffers when recovery is incomplete.

• Hormones: Fragmented sleep caused by alcohol can lower growth hormone secretion, slowing muscle repair.
• Missed training sessions: A study on athletes and alcohol consumption found that when alcohol was consumed, it led to poorer sleep and more missed sessions.
• If you do make it out for the training session: You might perform worse due to lack of sleep, dehydration, nausea, or headaches (all the usual hangover effects). Alcohol also affects how your body metabolises carbohydrates and fats in endurance events (not directly sleep-related, but worth noting).

How to use this knowledge for action

You can be a runner and still enjoy social events with drinks, just be mindful and notice how it affects you. When we start noticing patterns, we're more likely to make positive changes. For example:

• Track sleep: Use a wearable or journal to spot differences when you've had a few drinks. If you see a pattern, be strategic about when you drink.
• Hydrate and fuel: Alcohol dehydrates and depletes glycogen, so replenish both before bed and before training the next day.
• Strategic timing: Drink after key workouts, not before long runs or races.

Occasional alcohol isn't going to ruin your goals, but understanding your body's limits and prioritising sleep helps ensure consistency, progress, and fewer skipped Saturday workouts!

Here's to a few more hours of sleep every week and faster, stronger, injury free running!