A nightly drink is rarely a decision — it accumulates. The short version.
- UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidance: no more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, spread evenly over three or more days rather than one or two heavy sessions.
- Units are smaller than glasses. A large 250ml glass of 13% wine is around three units, so two most evenings reaches 14 by midweek.
- Alcohol helps you fall asleep, then works against you — less REM sleep and a fragmented second half of the night. That is the three in the morning waking.
- The effect is not that you cannot function, but that you function slightly worse while feeling entirely normal.
- What helps: count one honest week in units, diarise two drink-free evenings, finish the last drink three hours before bed, use a smaller glass, and have a substitute ritual ready.
- If a night off feels difficult, speak to your GP. Alcohol is tolerated less well with age and interacts with many common medications.
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Six short reads each week on tax, Wills, family wealth and running a business, from John Ireland. Since 1996, three decades of protecting families.