If you have trouble sleeping, as so many people do, you might want to consider whether something you are doing could be contributing to the problem. One reader discovered inadvertently that a glass of wine at dinnertime resulted in poor sleep during the night. This person is not alone. Are you adding to your sleep problems?
Sleuthing the Cause of Sleep Problems:
Q. I am 62. Until ten years ago, I was a teetotaler. Then I began having a glass of wine with dinner.
I didn’t put the two together, but I also began having sleep problems. I would go to sleep, then awaken after an hour or so to urinate. I often was not able to get back to sleep for hours. I’d repeat this process several times a night.
I saw a urologist who told me that the wine could possibly be putting me to sleep, then acting as a diuretic and breaking down into sugars, keeping my mind going. I stopped drinking wine with dinner and now sleep much better and for longer periods of time between fewer bathroom trips. Even those have been reduced to twice a night. Now, I am able to get right back to sleep after the bathroom trip.
While I miss the glass of wine, a good night’s sleep without drugs is priceless.
How Wine Can Affect Sleep:
A. Many people believe that alcohol can help them get to sleep. While wine and other alcoholic beverages may help some people fall asleep, such drinks disrupt sleep later in the night (Alcohol, June 2015). Sleep experts generally recommend that people with insomnia avoid a nightcap. Thanks for sharing your experience.
If wine is not the problem, it might be one of your medications. We have listed a number of drugs that can contribute to sleep problems in our Guide to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep. You might want to consult it so you can ask your doctor about an alternative that would be less likely to lead to insomnia.
This guide is an online resource rather than a pdf. You will be sent a link in your email so you can consult it as many times as you like; don’t close the last page of the shopping cart until you confirm that you have indeed received the email with your link.
