Retired railwayman Derick Bowden, 64, of Wessex Drive in Rudheath, suffered spine and facial injuries when he died last December.
His widow Cynthia Bowden, 65, explained the night her husband fell: "We'd taken no medicine but both had a small nip of brandy with water and sugar."
She said she'd got up in the night to go to the toilet at the top of the stairs when Mr Bowden woke up saying he felt sick and dizzy and that he was going to the toilet.
Mrs Bowden said she heard a thump, before discovering her husband at the bottom of the stairs.
Coroner John Hibbert recorded a verdict of accidental death.
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