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A new government campaign has been launched aimed at highlighting the damaging effect alcohol can have on sleeping habits.
A government funded poll by YouGov found that 45 per cent of nearly 2,000 drinkers sampled, admitted experiencing fatigue the day after drinking over the recommended daily limits.
Conducted for the Know Your Limits campaign, research found some 58 per cent of those surveyed did not realise that drinking above the daily recommended guideless could cause sleep problems.
Men are advised to drink no more than four units a day, the equivalent of two pints of regular-strength beer, and women no more then three units, the equivalent of a large glass of wine.
Statistics show more than 10 million adults in England regularly exceed these limits.
Alcohol affects sleep in different ways - it prevents the brain from releasing vasopressin, which normally regulates the amount of water in the body.
Without this, the body dehydrates and causes more frequent trips to the toilet.
In addition, alcohol also encourages further loss of water, causing headaches and sleepless nights, disrupting the 'REM' stage of sleep, the Department of Health warned.
Commenting on the campaign, public health minister Gillian Merron said: "Lots of people don't realise that drinking too much can disrupt your sleep, leave you dehydrated and unable to remember parts of your evening.
"On top of this, drinking too much can affect your longer-term health, putting you at an increased risk of liver disease, stroke and cancer."
The Department of Health is urging regular drinkers to use the National Health Service's interactive units calculator to gain a "better night's sleep – and a happier brain".
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