You’re probably thinking,How can I think about working out if I can barely get out of bed? But you don’t need to go hard on the treadmill to benefit from a little exercise in the morning. Do five jumping jacks, go for a walk around the block, jump on the elliptical for 15 minutes or do a couple of squats. When you get your body moving, you get that blood flowing, and waking up your muscles with even a small stretch will help you feel more awake. For Aggie, cutting alcohol out of her life improved her sleep dramatically. “At the beginning it was scary – and dealing with the identity crisis was really hard. But as the days and weeks went by and I started to feel better physically, I also started to feel better mentally.
SAMHSA statistics indicate such sleep problems can last weeks, months, or even years after drinking stops. Even the healthiest sleepers wake a few times during the night, though for the most part you’re not awake long enough to remember them, Perlis says. Insomnia falls into several broad categories based on those times of the night when you have problems sleeping, and these tend to align with predictable triggers. “A general rule of thumb is that if you’re struggling to fall asleep at the start of the night, that’s due to anxiety or stressful life events,” Perlis says. Environmental issues—like a too-bright room, or staring at device screens—can also mess with your ability to fall asleep. With extended use of alcohol over time, there can be long-term concerns, too. Many who abuse alcohol often do it well into the night and oversleep into the next day. In time this may lead to switching up day and night sleeping patterns. Then, as withdrawal from the drug or alcohol occurs there’s a big sleep-wake reversal which then needs to be addressed.
Avoiding Stimulation
As an extended care treatment facility, Midwest Recovery Centers serves to provide intensive recovery treatment for alcohol addiction as well as other life problems. Contact us today to see how we can help you or your loved one begin recovery. Don’t let the fear of insomnia or other effects from alcohol cessation discourage you from seeking sobriety. With professional assistance, withdrawal and other side effects can be managed and you can achieve the quality of life you deserve. If you or someone you know needs a nightcap to get to sleep, it is an indicator that cutting back or stopping alcohol use should be considered.
Why can’t I sleep when I stop drinking?
A common side effect of withdrawal, insomnia is often a result of the body trying to adjust back to a normal sleep cycle. In some cases, insomnia in alcohol recovery may persist for months or evens years after first getting sober.
Most women also have a lower amount of water in their bodies than men. Alcohol circulates through water in the body, so women are more likely to have higher blood alcohol concentrations than men after consuming the same amount of alcohol. We regularly assess how the content in this article aligns with current scientific literature and expert recommendations in order to provide the most up-to-date research. Our team of writers, editors, and medical experts rigorously evaluates each article can t sleep without drinking to ensure the information is accurate and exclusively cites reputable sources. Other physical signs of withdrawal may include tremors, shakiness, nausea, vomiting, headache, sweating, heart palpitations, and more. Stopping the use of alcohol because it is causing problems in your life takes courage and commitment. There are both psychological and physical hurdles to overcome when seeking sobriety. Many recovering alcoholics had sleep problems that predate their alcohol dependence.
Consistent Sleep Routine
If you’re in recovery and having sleep problem, it’s important to discuss the situation with your doctor. There are medications, behavioral therapies, and other approaches your doctor can recommend. Naps decrease your overall amount of sleep debt, making it more difficult to fall asleep again at night at the proper time. Many people experiencing insomnia in recovery also had insomnia before they became dependent on alcohol. Currie notes that chronic insomnia affects 10% to 15% of the general adult population, but half of Sober House his study participants had insomnia before they became alcohol dependent. “Although we cannot infer any causal connection between insomnia and alcoholism from this data, it is hard to ignore such a high rate of pre-existing sleep problems in the sample,” he says. Alcohol may help you initially get to sleep, but is not recommended as a sleep aid because it actually worsens the overall quality of your sleep. The good news for those stopping alcohol use is that there are several ways to fall asleep without using alcohol.
- One study found that moderate and heavy drinking had an especially significant effect on sleep.
- Our addiction specialists are always ready to answer your questions and help you access the care you need.
- While it’s normal to extend ourselves too much over the week and “catch up” on sleep during the weekends, that’s not how our biological clocks work.
- For example, drink a cup of caffeine-free tea, take a warm shower or listen to soft music.
She has produced a multitude of integrated campaigns and events in the behavioral health and addictions field. Through strategic marketing campaign concepts, Alyssa has established Banyan as an industry leader and a national household name. They possibly saved my life from seizures during severe withdrawal. I write about them because I once had no idea that medication could be necessary to save someone during severe withdrawal. Chris Scott founded Fit Recovery in 2014 to help people from around the world dominate alcohol dependence and rebuild their lives from scratch. A former investment banker, he recovered from alcohol dependence using cutting-edge methods that integrate nutrition, physiology, and behavioral change. Today, Chris is an Alcohol Recovery Coach and the creator of an online course called Total Alcohol Recovery 2.0. I can’t guarantee that what worked for me will work for you. But I find a tremendous amount of fulfillment in the idea that something I’ve learned can help others break free from the same horrible state of body and mind that once tortured me.
Like white noise, rhythmic breathing and repeating a mantra can help reduce distractions and overstimulation of your brain. Minimize sugar in your diet.Nutrition is a neglected pillar of recovery. Every time you eat a high-sugar meal or snack, you put your body on a blood sugar roller coaster that affects your mood. To learn more, check out my article on alcoholism and hypoglycemia.
These interventions aim to replace the role that alcohol played in getting you to sleep and help you practice good sleep hygiene. Those who stop using alcohol are likely to eventually experience better quality and longer-lasting sleep. In the beginning, however, sleep may be more difficult for those who have relied on using alcohol to get to sleep. Stopping alcohol use removes this sleep aid, potentially leading to difficulty initially getting to sleep. On the other hand, Perlis says depression is linked with “late insomnia”—the kind that wrests you from sleep so late in the night that you’re forced to rise early for the day. If you really want to sleep throughout the night, you want to set yourself up so that you can do so. Hallucinogens like MDMA and LSD can disrupt sleep in a similar way as stimulants, as these drugs too can enhance feelings of alertness. Additionally, many hallucinogens alter perception partly through their interference with the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is important for regulating sleep. Melatonin’s popularity as a sleep aid has raised some concerns.