Nightcaps are typically primarily brown liquor – brandy, bourbon, cognac, spiced rum, etc. Those of you going for a straight drink can take a double pour of any of these, neat.
Red wine was voted the most likely type of alcohol to make a person tired or lethargic, with 60% of respondents reporting sleepiness after a few glasses.
In small doses, vodka can induce sleep and stimulate sleep latency. That's why many people that suffer from insomnia drink alcohol right before bed. It's one of the many benefits of drinking vodka (moderately, of course!). Plus, you can use the best vodka mixers and have yourself a before-bed cocktail.
Nope. It's clear that alcohol's sedative effects are temporary, and drinking it before bed as a “sleep aid” will backfire.
Alcoholic nightcaps and sleep
The hot toddy is usually considered the original nightcap. Other traditional nightcaps include brown liquor like brandy or bourbon, and cream-based liqueurs such as Irish cream. Wine, especially fortified, can also function as a nightcap.
Chamomile and valerian are popular teas that people drink before bed, but other substances may also help. These include almond milk and cherry juice. Although some drinks contain tryptophan or melatonin, which are known to improve sleep, researchers are unclear about how other drinks help people fall asleep.
First off, it was found that men feel happy when they drink wine, cocktails, and IPAs (in that order), while women feel happy when they drink cocktails, wine, and vodka.
I stick with the classics: top-shelf whiskey, good brandy (usually Cognac), a burnished, potent, amber liqueur. As a coda, a nightcap also shouldn't stray too far from the movements that preceded it. It should bring them together and offer a fitting — not a dissonant — conclusion.
Sodas are loaded with caffeine and lots of sugar. The caffeine can make it hard to fall asleep, and the sugar may affect your ability to stay asleep. One study found that people who have a high daily intake of sugar have more arousals from sleep during the night.
The barbiturate effect of the alcohol can reduce stress, and also has sedative properties to help you sleep if you're experiencing anxiety. This is why whiskey is a classic choice of nightcap for badasses the world over.
The darker the alcohol, the worse the hangover.
“Vodka is known to be the best alcoholic beverage for the most minimal hangover. Gin, light rum and white wine are runner-ups—with brandy and whiskey being at the bottom of the list.
Everclear – This type of grain alcohol is 190 proof in its purest form, making it the most dangerous kind of alcohol a person can consume. Even two shots of Everclear can land a person in the emergency room – easily.
Choosing types of alcohol with fewer congeners, like beer, vodka and wine, might reduce your hangover symptoms compared to alcohols with higher congeners, like brandy, whiskey and rum.
Many people with anxiety turn to alcohol to “self-medicate.” Though alcohol's effects can sometimes feel like a welcome reprieve from anxiety, it's not a solution. On top of other health risks — like liver damage, cancer, and heart disease — alcohol can affect your brain health and make anxiety worse.
(That said, a nip of green Chartreuse makes a good occasional nightcap — just a nip, though: It's 110 proof.) Bourbons and ryes, while wonderful, tend to be mood-breakingly tangy, as does tequila, even when well aged. Vodka lacks comfort; gin — just no.
But a study by the British Medical Journal found that vodka is actually the least likely drink to give you a hangover: it's so pure that it contains virtually no congeners. Mixing vodka with soda or fruit juice is ideal, as sugary soft drinks can contribute to a headache the morning after the night before. But go easy.
While red wine was the most common among these (reported by 77.8% of patients and followed by white wine, champagne, and beer), it was a consistent trigger in only 8.8% of patients. Vodka was cited as the least likely to provoke headache (8.5% of patients).
Alcohol and Insomnia
Since alcohol can reduce REM sleep and cause sleep disruptions, people who drink before bed often experience insomnia symptoms and feel excessively sleepy the following day. This can lead them into a vicious cycle.
It is recommended that alcohol not be consumed in the last four hours before bedtime. 1 Even though alcohol may help you fall asleep, it interferes with the quality of your sleep. Moreover, it can take one hour for your body to process one serving of alcohol.
To reduce the risk of alcohol-related harms, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men or 1 drink or less in a day for women, on days when alcohol is consumed.
Prepare a healthy pre-drink meal.
You'll feel the effects of drinking more if you haven't eaten anything beforehand, since alcohol is absorbed from your stomach. Slow down the metabolism process by filling up with protein and high-fiber foods like asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower.