Sleep pattern change

[Kairos]

It's probably a question that's been asked a thousand times but does anyone else have difficulty with their sleep pattern when they give up booze? I'm, only on day 11 and while I find that I can usually get off to sleep without much bother, I am waking up at 4:30 and 5 am every night. This doesn't give me a head start on energy the next day. The energy is not such a problem but I find sleep loss affects my mood which in turn affects my resolve to stay stopped. Any suggestions anyone?
Kairos

[Starfish1]

Sleep pattern change

Kairos- Congratulations on Day 11! Great Work!

Actually, K9 and I were just thinking about this over in the newbies nest. Many people find that their sleep patterns change at first. I am on Day 15 and have been waking up at around 2 or 3 a.m. the past couple days and just can not go back to sleep. I have been going to bed extra early, so I still get my sleep in, but it's no fun lying there in the wee hours of the morning, trying your best to go back to sleep, to no avail! I have tried meditation, deep breathing, making gratitude lists, etc. Nothing works. Last night, I just lay there and thought about all of the newbies and prayed for strength for all of us. I am sure this stage will pass soon, so we may as well just be grateful that we aren't lying there in guilt, shame and remorse, as we did back in the "drinkin' days" right!
One thing you may want to try is eating something.....do you think you may be hungry? My husband has to get up in the middle of the night sometimes due to hunger. He eats a bowl of cheerios and sleeps like a baby the rest of the night!

[Myluck]

Sleep pattern change

I found 3 capsules of Valerian root helps a lot.

[Kairos]

Sleep pattern change

Hi Starfish,
Thanks for your reply. So nice that you thought of praying for all the newbies! I appreciate that.
You mentioned was I hungry. It's interesting. I didn't actually feel hungry but I was wondering if maybe I had low blood sugar or something. I'm sure the systems those who have used drink have been so messed up that it 'll take a good few months to settle down. Maybe I'll just have to see how it pans out over the winter.
Hi Myluck, I'm glad valerian root works for you. I've tried it in the past and it just gives me really active/weird dreams. I guess everyone has to work it out for themselves. But anyway I'll hang in there. Maybe I'll try going to bed a bit later and see how that works.
Thanks guys,
Kairos

[Starfish1]

Sleep pattern change

Hi Kairos,

i see you are up early again! I have been awake since 4 a.m. and even stayed up late last night!
As I mentioned over in the Newbies Nest, I take melatonin each night and that doesn't even help anymore...I am sure it's just a phase we are going thru!
I have a super busy day today, so I guess it's good I am getting an early start :H
Hope your day is AWESOME!

[Darkest Diamond]

Sleep pattern change

Oh I can really empathise with this, I sometimes get so desperate I just get up and iron/watch TV/work for an hour and then go back to bed.

[Alky]

Sleep pattern change

I was a chronic insomniac before I started drinking heavily and insomnia was one of several related reasons I became dependent on alcohol. Like Diamond, I have just come to embrace the insomnia - there's no point in fighting it. I will get up and catch up on work, read a book or novel, or surf posts here. If the body needs sleep, you will sleep. I find it far more stressful to just lay there willing myself to sleep (which never comes). My doctor gave me prescriptions for Ambien CR and trazodone (I went with the traz since it's generic and is dirt cheap) and that helped for several years, but I find I need it less and less as time passes. Just remember the insomnia is part of your brain chemistry resetting itself and is part of the recovery process. After one particularly bad detox about a year and a half ago, I didn't sleep for 80 hours!

[NoSugar]

Sleep pattern change

It seems that stressing about sleeplessness makes it worse . After fighting it for awhile and experimenting with supplements, I decided to just go with it and use the time to:

Enjoy that time alone at 3am thinking about how glad you are you didn't drink last night rather than the old worry/shame/promise that today will be different scenario. Picture yourself not drinking in various upcoming situations.

Meditate with or without audio guidance.

Mentally recite gratitude list.

Turn on BBC and try to listen and learn - this is so boring and works for me almost every time!

Even disrupted sleep now is going to leave you in better shape than what passes for sleep when you've drunk too much.

There is a concept of "first sleep" that humans naturally sleep for a few hours, are awake for awhile, and then sleep again. Maybe we're really normal and are struggling trying to fit into a societal norm!

Even if you don't 8 sleep hours straight but feel ok in the morning, why worry about it? It was only after I stopped thinking it should be different that I realized I'm fine.

:h NS

[Rahulthesweet]

Sleep pattern change

Kairos,

I remember when I first gave up AL for for 10 days or so I was having trouble sleeping. Al does crazy things to your brain and our byrain get so used to intoxication that with it becomes super charged and super alert.

After about 3 weeks I had trouble waking up ... I used to have so good and great sleep as if my body was craving for it.

[Eloise]

Sleep pattern change

I think I have the opposite reaction actually- I sleep far better and wake up feeling rested, not like I've been in some sort of weird wrestling match for the past 6 hours. I have taken to drinking valerian tea in the evenings, however. you might give it a try.....

[WineBGone]

Sleep pattern change

Kairos,

You and I are in the same place.... I am 11 days AF today (yea.... congrats to us !!).

My sleep patterns are getting worse everyday. The first few days I was waking up occasionally and now I seem to be awake for most of the night. I am going to bed around 10:00 PM, sleeping to around 12:30, awake until about 3:00 or 4:00, and sleeping until about 7:00 AM.

When I am awake, I am feeling a physical discomfort.. like a strong physical craving for alcohol. I thought this would have gone away after 11 days, but it seems to be worse. I am worried about this as I have never felt these symptoms before...... I hope they go away soon.

Thanks for starting this thread..... please let us know if your sleeping improves. I can't share any advice, but I am interested to know what others think about the sleep changes we are going through and how long they will last.

Good luck with this.. I will see you online at 3:00 AM :H

[Kairos]

Sleep pattern change

Hi No Sugar,
I'm really not stressing about it at all. I guess it's just annoying when my brain leaps into action as if it's time to get up! I was really just hoping to hear that it was a temporary state as Rahul has suggested it might be, so let's hope it won't last TOO long.
Thanks guys,
I appreciate the responses.
K

[3June2013]

Sleep pattern change

Kairos remember how you passed out drunk? Did you toss and turn sweating and promising yourself you'd stop drinking so much? If I can't sleep some nights now at least I wake up calm, and either come here or lie awake thinking. It's so much better now though than when I first quit. Definitely worth trudging through all these side effects to get to the other side!