Nightly drinking ruins your sleep

Jay-Z’s champagne is called Armand de Brignac; Mary J. Blige’s brand is Sun Goddess Wines; and famed director of “Apocalypse Now,” Francis Ford Coppola, has a line called Sofia, named after his daughter.

Now, it’s not the end of the world if you imbibe these celebrity sips, but evidence shows that drinking nightly is seriously risky business. It appears that drinking within four hours of bedtime can interfere with quality sleep. That’s because it shortens periods of REM (rapid eye movement) and makes you wake up more often during the night as blood sugar fluctuates and other biochemical changes happen in your brain and body.

You need multiple episodes of REM nightly so your brain can consolidate memories and processes emotions. Insufficient REM also makes you experience pain more acutely and may block growth of new, healthy cells and tissue in your body.

For optimal sleep — and to eliminate both short- and long-term health risks associated with alcohol consumption — some researchers recommend drinking only once a week and limiting intake to one glass of wine for women and two for men. Having more, they say, would be a mistake.

Instead, to feel relaxed at bedtime, opt for daily exercise, don’t eat within three hours of bedtime and make sure your room is digital-free, dark, cool and quiet.