How many hours before bed should I stop drinking?
On this page
For one drink, about 2 to 3.5 hours before bed for most adults. Each drink before it moves your last call earlier again, by under an hour for a big man and about 2 hours for a small woman. No trial has tested a cutoff, so this comes from the clearing math.
Most people stop a couple of hours before bed and assume that’s plenty. In a 2026 study of 20,968 WHOOP members, the typical member finished their last drink about 3 to 3.5 hours before going to sleep. That’s enough for one drink in almost any body. For two or three, it isn’t enough for most people.
What we’d do
Give your drinks time to clear before you sleep, and work back from bedtime. For an 11pm bedtime that means one drink finished by about 8pm, two by about 5:20 to 8:20pm depending on your size, and three by the late afternoon for smaller bodies. If that’s too early, have one fewer. Last call gives your own time.
Why the time grows with each drink
Think of a load of laundry that has to finish before you leave the house. A bigger load needs an earlier start, because the machine doesn’t run faster when it’s full.
Your liver works the same way. A 2010 review of the published rates found it clears a fixed amount an hour once the first drink or two is in, about 15 mg per 100 mL on average. Each extra drink adds its own time to the end of the curve, so with every drink your last call moves earlier.
Your last call, by body
On our engine, for an 11pm bedtime, one US drink an hour, food not known, this is the latest time to finish the last drink so they’re mostly cleared when you go to bed.
| Body | 1 drink | 2 drinks | 3 drinks | 4 drinks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woman, 130 lb | 7:30pm | 5:20pm | 3:15pm | 1:15pm |
| Woman, 160 lb | 8:05pm | 6:25pm | 4:55pm | 3:25pm |
| Woman, 190 lb | 8:30pm | 7:10pm | 6:00pm | 4:50pm |
| Man, 160 lb | 8:35pm | 7:20pm | 6:15pm | 5:10pm |
| Man, 190 lb | 8:55pm | 7:55pm | 7:05pm | 6:20pm |
| Man, 220 lb | 9:10pm | 8:20pm | 7:45pm | 7:10pm |
With dinner, the times for two or more drinks move later, by up to about an hour and a half for smaller bodies, since a 1994 lab study found the same dose cleared about two hours sooner after a meal. A 160 lb woman’s two drinks with dinner can be finished by about 6:50pm instead of 6:25pm.
What the heart data says
No trial has had people stop at different times before bed and measured their sleep. The best data comes from the WHOOP study, where members logged when they had their last drink. In women, drinking an hour earlier than usual, against an hour later, came with a sleeping heart rate 0.87 beats lower and HRV 1.5 ms higher, and men were similar. In people in their 20s the gap was 1.2 beats and 3.7 ms. WHOOP paid for the study, and the drinks were self-reported.
A 2025 analysis of 27 studies found REM falls even after a low dose of alcohol, up to about 2.4 US drinks for a 150 lb woman, so the drinks that cost your REM least are the ones that are gone before you sleep.
Where it stops
These are averages, and a slow liver can need much longer. The times also assume one drink an hour. The Tonight calculator takes your real drinks and times.
Last call
Last call for bed at 11:00pm
By 5:10pm
Finish the last one by 5:10pm (4:05pm to 5:55pm if your liver runs slower or faster). At one drink an hour, start by 4:10pm.
Two drinks can't clear by 11pm unless you start by about 4pm.
One clears if you finish it by 7:15pm.
18.9 g, 1.35 US drinksoz%- 18.9 g, 1.35 US drinksoz%
No trial has tested a cutoff before bed. The time comes from the clearing math. In the WHOOP study, finishing an hour earlier than usual, against an hour later, came with a slightly lower heart rate that night.
With Gyroscope One, snap or tap each drink and see what it did to your resting heart rate and sleep. How it works
Drinks are spaced one an hour, in the order listed. For adults of legal drinking age, 21 in the US. If you're pregnant or trying, the CDC says there's no known safe amount of alcohol.
4 sources
- Jones AW, Evidence-based survey of the elimination rates of ethanol from blood with applications in forensic casework, Forensic Science International, 2010pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Grosicki GJ and others, Real-world effects of alcohol on heart rate, sleep, and physical activity by age and sex, PLOS Digital Health, 2026 (funded by WHOOP)pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Gardiner C and others, The effect of alcohol on subsequent sleep in healthy adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2025pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Jones AW, Jönsson KA, Food-induced lowering of blood-ethanol profiles and increased rate of elimination immediately after a meal, Journal of Forensic Sciences, 1994pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
