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Post Info TOPIC: Tips for a good night sober sleep?


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Tips for a good night sober sleep?
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Hey all.  I've always suffered from anxiety that leads to insomnia.  One part of the reason I started drinking was literally to knock myself out for the night (it's also why nights are the hardest part of the day for me.  I would so be lying if I said I didn't miss just passing out...that's awful, isn't it?).  Now, at four days sober, I'm having a really hard time getting into a normal sleep pattern.  I have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.  Has anyone else experienced this and, if so, any tips?  Thanks, all. :)



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MIP Old Timer

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I highly recommend reading the AA Big Book before going to bed. And yes, that's partly humorous, but mostly not. It really does help. Try reading one of the stories in the back. If you're still feeling tense, read another one.

There's also doing some light exercise in the evening, which often helps, especially if you do it at least an hour before you try to sleep (if you do it right before you try to sleep, your system will be flooded with adrenaline and it will actually keep you awake). 

I strongly discourage the use of self-prescribed sleep medication for obvious reasons - it can lead right back to addictive substance abuse. It's a very bad idea.

And there's always the possibility that this is just something that you'll need to just get through for a few days, and you may be doing a bit of dragging yourself around with a bit of sleep deprivation for a little while. Not everything has a quick fix, and this fact is sometimes just something we need to deal with. But it's still far, far better than continuing the descent further down into active alcoholism, so it's important to keep that perspective. Whatever you decide to do, as long as you don't pick up a drink or some substitute mind-altering substance, this will pass. 



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The sleep thing...

I read somewhere that when you pass out from drinking, the sleep you get isn't "good sleep". You don't really go into the REM thing, which is like a deep sleep. 

It takes a while to adjust, your brain is gonna go through all sorts of changes this year, trying to adapt to life without alcohol. You might find, in time, that you don't need as many hours of sleep as you used to when you were drinking. Because you'll be getting BETTER sleep. 

like Dave said, some exercise will help. (I don't like to exercise. Its to tiring). Reading is always good. But try to read a real book, in low background light, if you can. Like a little book reading light. It's not good to read on a lit up computer screen, your brain won't produce the melatonin that makes you sleepy, if you're looking at bright light. Try reading the Big Book, the actual book version, with a reading light. Like Dave said, there's some good stories in there. There's always at least one story that we can relate to, and see ourselves, in the book.

If you drink coffee, (I do), try not to drink any after about 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Caffeine takes a while to leave your system.

Or, if you really can't fall asleep, then try to look at the positive side: you can sleep all you want when you're dead. (Somebody told me their drill Sargent in the army used to say that. I think he was kinda like that guy in Full Metal Jacket. Sgt. Hartman)



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I spelled "Sgt." wrong.  



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Sorry GreyGirl, ... I was asleep when you posted this ...

My experience with the 'sleep issue' is this ... When I went to my first Rehab, I found I could not sleep at all for about a week ... I'd lay there and my mind just would not slow down long enough for me to rest ... I wanted to drink terribly ... but I kinda 'white-knuckled' through it ... then my sleep was glorious ...

Okay, fast-forward a few years, I had gone back to drink'n for 13 more years ... nearly died, and returned to Rehab for the third time ... this time, I could not get any sleep for about a month ... it was absolutely horrible and nearly drove me back to drink'n again, but I knew this time, for me to drink, was for me to die ...

I got a prescription from the Doc that helped get me through this period ... and then when the sleep returned, it was glorious ... never had a problem since until I went through this recent cancer treatment ... no need to go into that here ... but overall, if you can just get through these exhaustive days a little while longer, you get some of the best sleep you can ever remember ... just hang in there and/or go to a doctor and tell him your going through alcohol withdrawal and they can help you deal with it ...

Whatever you do, DO NOT DRINK ... JUST FOR TODAY!


Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy



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MIP Old Timer

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Oh, one more thing ... the length of time it takes to return to 'good' sleep is directly related to the length of time you were a drinker and the amount you drank during that period ...

The body WILL heal itself as long as we don't add more alcohol to our system ... hang in there, it DOES get better ...



-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Friday 18th of September 2015 08:02:57 AM

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I had very disrupted sleep for months after first getting sober. I have heard and read that other newly recovering alcoholics do as well. Here is some info I found for you and a link if you want to read more.....


Difficulties Sleeping in Early Recovery

It is common for those in early recovery to struggle with insomnia or a disturbed sleep pattern. This can lead to tiredness and fatigue during the day; it can also increase the experience of fuzzy thinking that people often complain about when they first become sober. Most people find that once they have been sober for a few weeks they regain the ability to enjoy a full nights sleep. In fact the return to a normal sleep pattern can be one of the first signs that the individual is settling into the sober life.

alcoholrehab.com/alcohol-rehab/sleep-problems-in-early-recovery/

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GG, there is an AA book titled Living Sober that details several methods AA members have used to deal with all manner of problems while not drinking. Chapter 12, Get Plenty Of Rest, talks about the instant problem.

Living Sober is a great book, based on actual member experience. I used this book extensively since my earliest days in sobriety. It was just as important to me as the Big Book. You might take a look at this book and maybe add it to your library.



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                   ^^^   This. What he said.   ^^^

 

http://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/aa-literature/b-7-living-sober

 

 

 

 

 



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Thanks for posting this Pickle ... and I just want to say this book was extremely important to me also ... Great suggestion here ...



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These are all great suggestions. But remember, when all else fails, count sheep.



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sheep1.jpg



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Me too. Sober Living helped me stay sober, along with the BB of course.

Love the sheep pic, Dave.

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Sober Living is a great book. I used it a lot in the early days.

But my sleep problems were caused mainly by an inability to stop my mind reliving past events. I could have the best sober day ever, and still the skeletons in the closet came out to play every time I closed my eyes. You know the stuff that I did, the people I hurt, how could I ever live it down.

Solution: step 5 instantly fixed my sleep problem, step 9 helped keep it that way, and steps 10 and 11 have saved me from creating a whole new mess to not sleep over. I am sure that chemical imbalances and withdrawal played a part in the very early days, but it was the spiritual program, rather than more chemicals, that brought about the long term solution.

 



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What a great post Mike, ... and I must agree 100% ...

The only thing I could possibly add would be that one needs to be TOTALLY honest with themselves when working the steps so they don't wake up down the road wondering why it didn't work for them ... ... ...


Pappy



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MIP Old Timer

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exercise till you pass out . quit caffeine, and sugar, keep pets out of your bedroom, go to bed early, like 9:30 or 10. If you watch tv, use sleep timer to turn it off automatically. Try some sleep time tea. Eat foods with triptophan (sp?).

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Great tips Dean. I'm going to do the sugar and tv thing myself....still have trouble sleeping sometimes.

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