Even small amounts of alcohol impair sleep, binge drinking has longer effects

28.01.2026 - Professor of addiction medicine Solja Niemelä says that even a couple of servings of alcohol change the structure of sleep, making it more superficial. Poor sleep leads to tiredness the next day and difficulty concentrating. Binge drinking affects sleep for even longer, up to several days.

It is known that even small amounts of alcohol weaken sleep quality. One of the best aspects of an alcohol free month is the opportunity to notice how feeling more alert and coping better follows a properly slept night.

Nowadays the importance of sleep for overall wellbeing and health is well understood. When well rested, people also manage eating and physical activity more wisely and are able to concentrate properly, Niemelä says.

An alcohol free month offers a chance to notice positive changes in one's own condition. I encourage people to try how a month without alcohol affects sleep and alertness.

An alcohol free month is a good opportunity to observe one's own alcohol use and test what a month without alcohol feels like. During this period one may also notice situations where refusing alcohol is difficult due to social pressure.

If even the thought of an alcohol free month feels impossible, one should stop and reflect on one's own situation.

Previously it was thought that a small daily dose of alcohol would benefit heart health. Recently this view has been questioned, as positive effects have been found to be explained by other factors rather than alcohol itself.

Instead, there are many risks that increase with regular alcohol consumption. These include cancer risk and the risk of digestive system diseases.

Alcohol is definitely not a health product, Niemelä says.

She continues that there is no safe limit for alcohol use. The effects of alcohol are individual and depend on many factors such as sex, weight, health status, and age.

For example, for a person with overweight, even smaller amounts of alcohol pose a greater risk because liver strain increases already at lower levels.

Niemelä emphasizes the importance of low threshold conversations by social and healthcare professionals. Alcohol use should, in her view, be routinely discussed with clients.

In healthcare we still do too little low threshold discussion. The aim is to help people recognize possible risky use and the reasons behind their alcohol use.

The University of Turku and Varha have created an open online course for all social and healthcare professionals called “Discussing risky alcohol use and mini intervention / Sote Academy”. The course provides tools to support these conversations.

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Source: EPT-verkosto