trying to gather information re: wine for a sleep aid

as a 72-yr old teetotaler, i am very clueless about alcohol in general, and wine in particular. a couple of friends have said that a bit of wine before bedtime helps them sleep. i'm afraid to try it, not only because of the alcohol, but also the sulfites occuring and/or added to wine.

i guess what i'm asking here is if anyone has personal experience with wine and sleep. i ALWAYS wake up with a migraine in the middle of the night, no matter what i eat or don't eat, but with food chemicals and additives the M's are always much worse.

if i tried a tiny bit of wine, it would surely be white and dry.....i can't decide if this is crazy or not. but i am being driven crazy, for sure, because of 25 years of baaaad sleep. the only drug that helps my situation is becoming less and less effective. yes, i've had 5 overnight sleep studies, but the drugs they throw at me fail to help me either go to sleep or stay asleep.

also i've endured 3 nasal/sinus surgeries which, disappointingly, did not help. thanks, dianne

Wine gives me headaches (red is the worst but white can do it). It also leads to poor quality sleep so I wouldn't recommend it for that purpose. You are better off with melatonin or Tylenol PM for sleep aid. Tizanadine also works very well for me. It is a muscle relaxant.

Agree its just not a good idea to rely on alcohol for things such as sleep, dealing with life, etc...more likely to become dependent upon it. I don't think its that likely to help someone with serious sleep issues. That said, I see no problem with having a few drinks when not alone, not driving, not on meds, etc. I would really push for other opinions on the sleep. Its pretty rare to not have anything help. I don't mean to berate you, but I assume you've done the obvious such as time exercise, avoid caffeine, etc, and tried meds such as Melatonin, muscle relaxers (I also take Tizanadine), meds that have sleep as a side effect like Amitriptyline, etc, in addition to the various sleep aids (there are some new ones). Tylenol PM is a bad idea due to the Tylenol, but with doctor's advise, if you haven't tried Unisom, that would be fine as its a pure sleep aid. If needed I'll take a double dose of that. I would also really pursue the middle of the night migraines. Should be easier to track down than random ones or 24/7 headache I'd think. Low blood sugar? Best wishes.

I also have trouble with wine and headaches. Although I very seldom drink I don't seem to have a problem with alcohol in general, but certainly don't want to become reliant on it.

After going though all the steps and getting to where I am now, I avoid caffeine and am currently taking the Tylenol PM and Valerian root and that has been enough for the last several months. I am avoiding more Tylenol and once this bottle is gone I will not replace it. I will also go away from the RX meds with Tylenol included.

Try the easier to tolerate meds first and go from there, different meds work differently for different people. Hope you see some results, let us know what you try and what works...

=Bill

thank you for the answers, everyone. obviously, i am not an easy case. this is likely because of an untreated chiari malformation. things just don't work right in my brain. (the treatment is drastic brain surgery, and i have declined it because of its horrendous nature and poor success rate).

naturally, i have been through all the OTC stuff, as well as many prescriptions. and 5 sleep doctors, who have no ideas if the drugs they suggest don't work. the science of sleep is still young.

yep, blood sugar issues have been thoroughly assessed for the past 40 years or so. the bottom line is that nobody knows, in this case, about the night headaches.

i probably will not try wine, after getting several negative responses from two forums. it was just another desperate thought......dianne

If you're worried about the sulfites you can get an organic wine. I don't think they contain sulfites. I see nothing wrong with a glass of wine. IMHO it would be better for you than pills. That said, I can't drink any alcoholic beverage because of the M & seizures. good luck!

My problem with alcohol, even in small amounts and typically as wine, is it knocks me out for about an hour or two and then I wake up and am wide awake and can't get back to sleep. It ruins both the duration and quality of my sleep.

However, THC - related to another recreational drug - works wonders with me. I get a little bit sleepy and fall asleep naturally. It also reduces spams and pain in me so I sleep better. Its only problem is it wears off after 4-6 hours. I suppose one could redose at that point but I never do. I use a perscription form but I imagine the natural form works even better.

I would not recommed wine to help you sleep. Bad advice.
I am not even talking about possibility of developing dependency, but apart from wine being a very common migraine trigger, any alcohol taken at night will cause bad dehydration, which is another trigger. This is why people who drink, often wake up with hangover.

Waking up with a migraine in the middle of the night, unable to sleep can indeed get your down.
It happens to me at times, and I am not sure what is causing it, but when it does, I only use some natural sleeping product such Kalms, or other products which contains valerian. I am in UK so I am not sure what kind of thing is available where you are.

I am sure they would advice you at your pharmacy making sure that it does not interact with any of the medicines you take.
I hope you will find some help with your sleep soon.

My problem with alcohol, even in small amounts and typically as wine, is it knocks me out for about an hour or two and then I wake up and am wide awake and can't get back to sleep. It ruins both the duration and quality of my sleep.

However, THC - related to another recreational drug - works wonders with me.

I agree with this 100%.