90 minutes
The reason for this is because as time progresses during sleep, the alcohol is metabolized, and so you lose the sedative benefit that it provides. In addition, alcohol can really disrupt a stage of sleep called as REM sleep, and the predominance of REM sleep occurs during the latter part of the sleep cycle. Consuming alcohol near bedtime can have a powerful, negative impact on your sleep quantity and quality. The effects of alcohol on sleep are apparently not common knowledge. A 2009 study found that 58 percent of 2,000 respondents were unaware that drinking can be detrimental to sleep. Alcohol Is Not a Sleep Aid. “The immediate and short-term impact of alcohol is to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep, and this effect on the first half of sleep may be partly the reason some people with insomnia use alcohol as a sleep aid,” Ebrahim says. If you are concerned about the impact alcohol has on your sleep, discontinue drinking within a few hours of bedtime. In general, it takes about an hour to metabolize one ounce of alcohol. If your sleep problems persist despite your best efforts, talk with your family physician. If you are drinking alcohol, try to avoid it too close to bedtime. Give your body time to process the alcohol you had before you try to go to sleep. On average, it takes an hour for your body to process one standard drink, but this can vary widely from person to person. There is life after alcohol and it is a good life. According to the findings, alcohol does allow healthy people to fall asleep quicker and sleep more deeply for a while, but it reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects. REM sleep happens about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. It's the stage of sleep when people dream, and it's thought to be restorative. Disruptions in REM sleep may cause daytime drowsiness, poor concentration, and rob you of needed ZZZs. 1 Even caffeine consumed 6 hours before bed reduced total nightly sleep amounts by more than 1 hour. 2  Caffeine consumed at all 3 points diminished sleep quality. 3  Caffeine taken 3 and 6 hours before bedtime, as well as caffeine consumed at bedtime, significantly increased the amount of time spent awake during the night.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Sleep/alcohol-affects-sleep/story?id=6763654 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-rosenberg-phd/alcohol-sleep_b_902578.html http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-rosenberg-phd/alcohol-sleep_b_902578.html https://www.liverdoctor.com/alcohol-affect-way-look/ http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20130118/alcohol-sleep http://blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2013/12/how-caffeine-affects-sleep.html
how long does alcohol affect your sleep