SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information - View Single Post - Persistence of insomnia following abstinence from alcohol

bottleslave · 03-27-2009, 04:18 AM

Found this fairly interesting 2001 academic piece by Kirk J. Brower, M.D., called "Alcohol’s Effects on Sleep in Alcoholics."

(Hey, I was up at 3:00 a.m. and couldn't sleep, right?)

I gots good news and bad news.

The good: insomnia is a common subacute withdrawal symptom that persists only for approximately 5 weeks. (I think this may be one reason I've had trouble staying sober to 45 days; just before that, I start feeling better and get cocky.)

The bad: some sleep abnormalities can persist for 1 to 3 years after cessation of alcohol consumption. Here's the money shot: "sleep fragmentation manifested by increases in sleep-stage changes, brief arousals, and REM sleep disruptions can persist for 1 to 3 years after establishing sobriety. Furthermore, most sleep disturbances that occur during recent abstinence (i.e., decreased total sleep time and SWS%, and increased sleep latency and stage 1 sleep) appear to normalize with sustained abstinence. REM sleep latency may remain abnormal from 9 to 27 months. Although some studies documented a return to normal REM% at 3 to 9 months, REM% may remain elevated for 27 months."

03-27-2009, 04:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
bottleslave Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 21	Persistence of insomnia following abstinence from alcohol Found this fairly interesting 2001 academic piece by Kirk J. Brower, M.D., called "Alcohol’s Effects on Sleep in Alcoholics." (Hey, I was up at 3:00 a.m. and couldn't sleep, right?) I gots good news and bad news. The good: insomnia is a common subacute withdrawal symptom that persists only for approximately 5 weeks. (I think this may be one reason I've had trouble staying sober to 45 days; just before that, I start feeling better and get cocky.) The bad: some sleep abnormalities can persist for 1 to 3 years after cessation of alcohol consumption. Here's the money shot: "sleep fragmentation manifested by increases in sleep-stage changes, brief arousals, and REM sleep disruptions can persist for 1 to 3 years after establishing sobriety. Furthermore, most sleep disturbances that occur during recent abstinence (i.e., decreased total sleep time and SWS%, and increased sleep latency and stage 1 sleep) appear to normalize with sustained abstinence. REM sleep latency may remain abnormal from 9 to 27 months. Although some studies documented a return to normal REM% at 3 to 9 months, REM% may remain elevated for 27 months."