Sleep deprivation

So here I am… day 3 no sleep. I’m at work and the ground keeps shifting and I’m seeing slight patterns in anything with texture. Anyone else go thru some serious sleeping issues in early recovery?

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Yes. It takes me at least 2 days to start getting sleep after a bender. Hang in there. This to shall pass.

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Yeah, I remember it would take me a few nights to readjust after every bender. You know cause night 1 is so f’d up that it takes the body and mind some time to get back in order.

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Hey @Tyler_Neal_Carlson, yes sleep disturbances are a normal part of early recovery. I suffered from horrible sleep deprivation the first few days as well. Your body is trying to figure out how to be normal, your blood pressure is still probably high (many alcoholics have high blood pressure) which usually means you have a high heart rate thus may be keeping you up. Not to mention any anxiety you may have which is also common in recovery.

Did you have sleep problems before you began drinking? Your sleep disturbances may continue on for a few more days or weeks or even months and up to a year depending on how much you’ve been drinking and for how long. Don’t let that discourage you. I got drunk twice a week from nearly 10 years (one full year of sobriety in 2013). Today I’m 9 days sober and my sleep problems subsided drastically around day 4 & 5. One thing that helped me from the very beginning is I tried not to think about not being able to sleep. I let my body do what it needed to do to get better. I stayed hydrated with water and I eat healthy almost always. Try to go to bed at the same time every night. On your days off try to stay active, get out of the house, go to the gym, go visit sober friends and family or go for a walks, make it a point to stay away from home where you might be tempted to nap. Isolation can also lead to insomnia. Oh and try not to exercise right before bed and don’t take a shower before bed, both will make it harder to fall asleep.

There’s so much more you can do to help yourself get better rest but I thought I’d share this for starters, for now. Hang in there. I hope you get some better sleep soon because that makes such a huge difference.

Stay strong!

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Yeah I got those too. and I know exactly what you mean with those “slight patterns”.It fell like i was going mental,haha.

For me, sleep usually came back after a few nights. At first it wasn’t a good, relaxing sleep at all, but that came eventually.It`s priceless and makes it all worthwhile in the end.

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Thanks for the support guys. But I’m on day 10 ( should of worded that better) so I figured this would of passed. I’m about to crash after being up since day 7 and don’t work tomorrow. I’m ready for a coma!

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If you are awake that long, maybe is something medical. My ex would be up for days without sleep. Found out she had high blood pressure. Got on blood pressure meds and sleeps fine. Worth looking in to. Hoped you get out figured out. It’s misery not being able to sleep.

Went to the doc 4 days ago and was at like a 123 over 80 so I don’t think it’s high blood pressure. But I finally got some decent sleep so things are looking up

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Glad to hear that :slight_smile:

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Just started recently having sleep issues however, i have found reading has helped me drift off. After two weeks of no alcohol on a sober streak recently the sleeping started to get more normal… :sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy::sleepy:

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Yes almost 2weeks sober and still have a bad sleep… Awake again for a couple of hours pfff

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Right there with ya. Last night I woke up at 4 when I had to be up at 8. Meditation and hypnosis apps have been a big help for at least getting to sleep.

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@Oliverjava OMG recently got on the herbal tea wagon!!! The sleepy tea is amazing … really calms me of an evening. Dont know about cream in it though, although a hint of honey I am going to have to try…

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Love my teas!:tea:best wishes your way!!

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Hi all, I’ve been taking a low dose (2.5mg) of melatonin on my nights I don’t feel sleepy by a certain time and it really works. It’s placed under your tongue for quick absorption and you can usually feel the effects in about 30 min or so. Make sure you can devote 8 hours of sleep when you take it and check with your doctor first due to pre-existing conditions you may have and drug interactions. This helped me so maybe it’ll help you. Happy Sunday!

#16daysandmakingeverydaycount! :slight_smile:

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First two weeks and my sleep was horrible…
Now i sleep like a baby and my only problem is being woken up by my stupid cats!

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Yep goin through 1 now. No sleep wotsoever

Just about 48 hours dry. Haven’t slept in 3 days.I also have a cold. Ugh. I start outpatient detox in the morning. Hopefully, that will help. Hang in there, you are not alone.

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Hang on in there m8. I aint slept a wink n i got work in cuple hours lol we can do this!!

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