Sleeping Pills and Holiday Habits: What You Need to Know

Drinking alcohol

Doctors across the board recommend that patients on sleeping pills refrain from drinking alcohol, but they realize that's not an easy task during the holidays. "If you must drink, try to limit yourself to a glass of wine or two beers in the afternoon, at least six hours before bedtime," says Donna Arand, PhD, clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Kettering, Ohio. Alcohol acts as a stimulant for a time after it is ingested, and it can therefore counteract the effects of sleeping pills, which act as sedatives. "You want the alcohol to be as far away from the sleep period as possible," Arand explains.

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