Sleeping Pills and Alcohol - Never a Good Combination
Alcohol and sleeping pills really don't mix.
Depending on when you've had a drink and when you take the sleeping pill, the alcohol can have a different impact on your body and on the effectiveness of the sleep aid and it isn't a good impact in any case.
Here's what you can expect.
The problem with alcohol is that its effect on your body changes over time.
When you first take a drink, alcohol tends to have a sedative effect.
This makes taking sleeping pills at the same time very dangerous as it can slow your heart rate down and cause your breathing to become very shallow.
You may become dizzy, or could even faint.
For some people this can prove fatal in that you may even stop breathing.
So it really cannot be said strongly enough.
Do not mix alcohol with sleeping pills.
You may never wake up.
As for taking alcohol earlier in the evening, with dinner, that may be less dangerous, but it really depends on your metabolism so it is difficult to judge whether it is really safe.
There isn't a general recommendation.
As time passes, say three to four hours, alcohol actually begins to stimulate your system which means that your sleeping aid will be much less effective due to the opposing effects of the alcohol.
Since we all metabolize alcohol at different rates, depending on sex, weight, body composition, what food you've eaten, etc.
there really isn't a safe recommendation for when you can have a drink and then later take a sleeping pill.
If you have a drink for dinner, and then enjoy a dessert and go to bed several hours later, it may be okay for you to take a sleeping pill then and then you'll be able to get to sleep.
But most doctors recommend that you should wait for as long as you possibly can before doing so.
In the long run, you may be better off skipping the sleeping pill and putting up with a sleepless night, for your own safety's sake.
Ultimately, if you find yourself needing to take sleeping pills to go to sleep it is really best to forego alcohol entirely until you are no longer reliant on sleep aids.
Or, even better, you can try some alternatives to medications that won't leave you worrying about when you can or can't have a drink.
Depending on when you've had a drink and when you take the sleeping pill, the alcohol can have a different impact on your body and on the effectiveness of the sleep aid and it isn't a good impact in any case.
Here's what you can expect.
The problem with alcohol is that its effect on your body changes over time.
When you first take a drink, alcohol tends to have a sedative effect.
This makes taking sleeping pills at the same time very dangerous as it can slow your heart rate down and cause your breathing to become very shallow.
You may become dizzy, or could even faint.
For some people this can prove fatal in that you may even stop breathing.
So it really cannot be said strongly enough.
Do not mix alcohol with sleeping pills.
You may never wake up.
As for taking alcohol earlier in the evening, with dinner, that may be less dangerous, but it really depends on your metabolism so it is difficult to judge whether it is really safe.
There isn't a general recommendation.
As time passes, say three to four hours, alcohol actually begins to stimulate your system which means that your sleeping aid will be much less effective due to the opposing effects of the alcohol.
Since we all metabolize alcohol at different rates, depending on sex, weight, body composition, what food you've eaten, etc.
there really isn't a safe recommendation for when you can have a drink and then later take a sleeping pill.
If you have a drink for dinner, and then enjoy a dessert and go to bed several hours later, it may be okay for you to take a sleeping pill then and then you'll be able to get to sleep.
But most doctors recommend that you should wait for as long as you possibly can before doing so.
In the long run, you may be better off skipping the sleeping pill and putting up with a sleepless night, for your own safety's sake.
Ultimately, if you find yourself needing to take sleeping pills to go to sleep it is really best to forego alcohol entirely until you are no longer reliant on sleep aids.
Or, even better, you can try some alternatives to medications that won't leave you worrying about when you can or can't have a drink.
