Trazodone and Alcohol: Why the Label Warns Against Mixing Them
The trazodone label warns it may strengthen the response to alcohol, and both cause drowsiness.
By withClaro Editorial · 2026-11-02 · 4 min read
Clinical section reviewed by Dr. Jason Tan , Consultant Psychiatrist, on October 27, 2026.
Key takeaways The trazodone Medication Guide says not to drink alcohol on trazodone until you have talked with your healthcare provider. Trazodone is often taken at night for sleep, so an evening drink lands in the same window as the dose. Together they add to drowsiness and to dizziness or fainting on standing, which raises the risk of falls at night. Tell your prescriber how much you drink, whether you are starting trazodone or already on it. On this page
Can you drink alcohol while taking trazodone? Why is alcohol risky with trazodone? What should you tell your prescriber about alcohol and trazodone? Trazodone and alcohol is mostly an evening question. Trazodone is approved for depression, but many people take a low dose at night for sleep, which is off-label. That makes the evening drink the real issue: a glass with dinner and a tablet at bedtime act in the same hours. Using it for sleep at all is debated: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 2017 guideline suggests against trazodone for insomnia, though it is still widely prescribed for it. The risk is highest for people who already feel dizzy when they stand up, and for older adults.
Can you drink alcohol while taking trazodone?
The trazodone Medication Guide says: do not drink alcohol or take other medicines that make you sleepy or dizzy while taking trazodone until you talk with your healthcare provider, because it may make your sleepiness or dizziness worse. MedlinePlus says to ask your doctor about drinking and that alcohol can make trazodone's side effects worse. So the starting answer is no, and any exception is something to agree with your prescriber.
Why is alcohol risky with trazodone? Medically reviewed by Dr. Jason Tan on October 27, 2026, this section only.
Because their effects add up. Alcohol and trazodone both make you drowsy and slow your reactions, and trazodone can also lower blood pressure when you stand and cause fainting, which alcohol can make worse; the label warns that trazodone may strengthen the response to alcohol. The label also cautions about driving until you know how trazodone affects you.
At night that means falls, especially if you already get dizzy when you stand up or are older:
Get out of bed slowly and sit with your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing, as MedlinePlus advises. Tell your prescriber about any falls or dizziness you have already had. If you faint, fall or keep blacking out when you stand after drinking, contact your prescriber rather than waiting for the next visit. The label also notes that deaths from overdose have happened when trazodone was taken together with alcohol or other sedatives. If you have taken your dose and sleep doesn't come, don't take a second tablet or add another sleep aid. If someone is very hard to wake, breathing slowly or has collapsed, call 911 in the US, or Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. The clinical view:
It is safest to avoid alcohol, especially in the first weeks, and skipping a dose so you can drink makes things worse.
Alcohol slows the brain down. It can deepen low mood and anxiety, especially the next day, and that can look like the medication is failing. Together, the two add to drowsiness and slow your reactions, which matters for driving.
A skipped dose can bring on withdrawal symptoms, and the alcohol still has its effect.
If you drink or use cannabis regularly, including CBD or prescribed cannabis, or find it hard to cut down, tell your prescriber. It changes which medication and dose makes sense, and it is a conversation they have often. ## Is trazodone worse with alcohol than other antidepressants?
It is among the more sedating ones, and every label words its alcohol advice differently. Here is what the labels of trazodone and six other common antidepressants say; where a label says nothing, that is not permission to drink.
Medicine What the label says about alcohol Trazodone don't drink until you talk with your provider; may strengthen the response to alcohol Remeron (mirtazapine) avoid alcohol; adds to impairment Cymbalta (duloxetine) not for people with substantial alcohol use; liver injury Wellbutrin (bupropion) minimize or avoid; seizure risk with heavy use or sudden stop Buspar (buspirone) prudent to avoid, though no added impairment in studies Celexa (citalopram) no specific alcohol advice in the current label, which doesn't make drinking safe Lexapro (escitalopram) alcohol not recommended
Drowsiness is a big part of the reason. In trazodone's trials in outpatients, drowsiness affected 41% against 20% on placebo, and dizziness 28% against 15%; in inpatients, 24% against 6%, and 20% against 5%. Remeron's label gives sleepiness at 54% against 18% in its own trials. These come from different trials, so the gap between the two drugs can't be read directly; both labels put drowsiness near the top.
What should you tell your prescriber about alcohol and trazodone?
Whether you are about to start trazodone or have been on it for months, these details help your prescriber:
How many drinks you have in a usual week. Whether you drink in the evening, close to your dose. Other sleep aids or sedatives you use. Any falls or dizziness at night. Whether you're trying to cut down. If you do drink before you have that conversation:
Don't drink on an empty stomach, pace your drinks and have water in between. Don't take a second tablet or other medicines that make you sleepy. Get up slowly at night. Don't drive, including the next morning. If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, contact emergency services or a crisis line straight away. In the US, call or text 988. In the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123. Elsewhere, find a crisis line near you .
Download on the App Store Alcohol and trazodone can change sleep and next-day energy. The withClaro app lets you log sleep, mood and energy each day, linked to your dose, and turns it into a report for your prescriber.
Frequently asked questions Can you have one drink on trazodone? Even one drink adds to trazodone's drowsiness and dizziness, and the Medication Guide asks you not to drink until you've talked it through. Ask your prescriber whether an occasional drink is acceptable for you.
How long after drinking can I take trazodone? There is no set gap in the label; it depends on how much you drank and your dose. A bedtime dose after an evening of drinking stacks the effects, so ask your prescriber or pharmacist what to do on those nights.
Is trazodone dangerous with alcohol? Together they add to drowsiness and dizziness and raise the risk of fainting and falls, and the label links overdose deaths to taking it with alcohol. That is why the Medication Guide says not to drink until you've talked with your provider.
Should I skip trazodone if I've been drinking? Don't make that call on the night: if you take it for depression, skipping doses can bring on withdrawal, and if you take it for sleep, the drink and the dose both sedate. Agree a plan for those nights with your prescriber in advance.
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Sources TRAZODONE HYDROCHLORIDE tablets prescribing information, US Food and Drug Administration via DailyMed MedlinePlus: Trazodone Sateia MJ, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Pharmacologic Treatment of Chronic Insomnia in Adults. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2017 LEXAPRO (escitalopram) prescribing information, US Food and Drug Administration via DailyMed, revised April 2024 REMERON (mirtazapine) prescribing information, US Food and Drug Administration via DailyMed NIAAA: Harmful interactions, mixing alcohol with medicines Claro articles are for self-monitoring and educational purposes only. They are not a medical device, therapist, or diagnostic tool, and do not replace care from your prescribing clinician. If you are in crisis, contact your care team, emergency services, the Samaritans (UK: 116 123), or the Crisis Text Line (US: text HOME to 741741).