Yes, Mavericks, 82 days of sobriety, while a fantastic accomplishment, is still early times.
Sleep issues seem to be so variable with alcohol use (or withdrawal from same) being just one of many. I recently had a lengthy conversation with a friend who, as a Physician’s Assistant and researcher, has recently spent considerable time exploring sleep issues and quality of sleep. She mentioned how diet and exercise can impact sleep (healthy diet and regular exercise generally having positive effects; poor diet and lack of exercise generally having negative effects) and how stress and disease can negatively our sleep. So, what about those people who eat well, exercise and have no excessive stress or underlying disease and still have sleep issues? Her feeling is (and research seems to support this) that, for many, poor sleep due to an interrupted circadian rhythm is to blame; much of this is caused by exposure to excessive amounts of blue light in the hours prior to sleep; she recommends that her patients attempt to ‘reset’ their circadian rhythms by doing the following:
(1). Set a regular bedtime and stick to it:
(2). Eliminate as much blue light as possible after dark by (a) putting aside all electronic devices (mobile phones, tablets, laptops and television) at least two hours before bedtime, (b) using anti-blue light lenses after dark when using electronics; (c) reducing blue light emitted by fluorescent and LED bulbs by using fixtures with incandescent light.
(3). Set a wake-up time and stick to it.
(4). Upon waking, spend some time outside in the sun to ‘reset’ to daylight - ten to fifteen minutes.