The last hour
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 8,614
The last hour
It's one hour and 20 minutes until the liquor store closes. I want to watch the movie that reminds me of the one I miss and drink until I fall asleep. I have been falling asleep to it lately... It's so comforting. I know it will otherwise be another sleepless night. Any feedback is appreciated. Why does something so nice have to be so toxic? I am trying to distract myself with a different movie with little success. At the last minute I am so apt to run out to the store, out of fear that I will miss it. Yes I know this conflicts with my previous post regretting time lost to drinking. I just can't stand anymore nights on solitude. People die of loneliness, maybe not directly...
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,380
I think you have to look beyond the immediate sleepie - I know you're lonely but getting trashed and watching 'the night porter' is not the ultimate solution to that.
When I threw myself in recovery I began to change - I had a clearer idea of who I was and what I had to offer.
I also had a clearer idea of what people were like, and the kinds of relationships that would be good for me.
All this didn't happen overnight tho, I'm sorry - it takes some faith, some effort and it takes time.
D
When I threw myself in recovery I began to change - I had a clearer idea of who I was and what I had to offer.
I also had a clearer idea of what people were like, and the kinds of relationships that would be good for me.
All this didn't happen overnight tho, I'm sorry - it takes some faith, some effort and it takes time.
D
Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,058
No, you will get beyond this and think how in the world did I honestly think that would help me?
Hang in there.....it does take time and I will say getting sober and into recovery was the greatest gift I ever could have given myself.
Glad you are sharing Sleepie.
Hang in there.....it does take time and I will say getting sober and into recovery was the greatest gift I ever could have given myself.
Glad you are sharing Sleepie.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 42
Originally Posted by sleepie 
I know it will make me sluggish tomorrow and take forever to work but I am going to take a benadryl. I have had trouble sleeping for almost 15 years.
7 months ago I finally stopped, I still can't sleep without
meds I'm hoping one day I will.
Using booze just so you can fall asleep is no way to live
your life, that's essentially what really got me out...
all the bad and stupid things I've done due to drinking
never bothered me, not being able to fall asleep finally
did.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,380
I had trouble sleeping for well over a decade sleepie.
After about 3 months sobriety, my old sleeping pattern, the one I had before I started drinking heavily - came back.
I rarely get insomnia now.
D
After about 3 months sobriety, my old sleeping pattern, the one I had before I started drinking heavily - came back.
I rarely get insomnia now.
D
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 56
I often can't sleep and I have noticed that it is worse if I have had a glass or two of wine. Alcohol apparently disturbs our natural sleep cycles. Best thing I have tried is warm milk with a bit of stevia sweetener in it and a piece of toast plus sometimes 2 regular aspirin ( I get body aches and the aspirin helps) Getting older sucks but it is much better than the alternative I am sure 
Well I hope so anyway!
Well I hope so anyway!
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,243
sleepie,
I also want to encourage you not to give up! Alcohol is a trickster ... it may cause you to fall asleep initially but it is not good sleep and it does disrupt sleep patterns. How do I know? For one thing it is scientifically proven and one of the devices used to determine if someone court ordered not to drink is an ankle sleep monitor. When you drink you will toss and turn, toss and turn and toss and turn destroying your rhem sleep. This is reported electronically to the monitoring company who ordered the person in for a drug/alcohol test.
Second example: personal experience. My husband was diagnosed bipolar, sleep disorder, clinically depressed and stage 4 alcoholic. For over 10 years he could not sleep despite using every sleep med out there, benzo's, anti-depressants and every health food supplement on the planet. Of course he drank like a fish during all that time but the docs never factored into the equation even though they knew his drinking issues.
Finally AF it turns out that he has NONE of the above and sleeps like a baby every night. It was the alcohol that mimicked the symptoms of bipolar, depression and sleep disorder and doctors always look for the prescription solution and easy diagnosis!
Stick with it... go alcohol free and you can get your healthy sleep back! It will take time... months in fact... but it will be worth it!
Here are some great ideas for getting better sleep...
Light Issues – The Usual
Our circadian clocks govern our sleepiness, and circadian clocks are extremely responsive to – and even dependent on – environmental light. Managing your exposure to light, especially blue light throughout the day and night can help you get to sleep at a normal time. The hormonal flux that controls our sleep schedule is complex, but sticking to ancestral light exposure norms should take care of most of it:
Sleep in a Dark RoomTotal darkness is best. That means turning off the blinking DVR, using a towel to block the light streaming in under the door, flipping your alarm clock around, and drawing the blinds. If these aren’t doable, think about wearing an eye mask or draping a dark cloth over your face. You may find that such drastic measures aren’t totally necessary (the moon’s light doesn’t seem to bother me, for example), but it’s definitely worth pursuing if you feel your sleep is lacking.
Read Before BedInstead of reaching for the laptop or the remote, why not grab a book? For one, the blue light streaming from the laptop or LCD screen will suppress your natural melatonin production, and for two, reading is a relaxing activity that nonetheless requires active engagement of your cognitive skills. Working your brain can be tiring, while watching something is usually just passive.
Embrace Candlelit DinnersCandlelit dinners aren’t just romantic; they actually promoted better sleep and more recovery from workouts for reader JD Moyer, who found that ditching all artificial lighting after dark (including computers and TV) in favor of candles made an enormous difference in both his and his wife’s lives. This is likely due to the fact that fire, especially the tiny flames lighting up a simple candle, emits little to no blue light. You know how candle light is “soft” and somehow soothing? There’s a physiological reason for that.
Get Some Exposure to Blue Light in the Morning and During the DayWhen you get up in the morning, head outside and greet the day – and the blue sky overhead (if the season permits). Go for a walk at lunch for a bit more exposure. Thankfully, some offices are beginning to employ blue light-enriched overhead lights, which has been shown to increase worker alertness. This is more about normalizing your circadian rhythm and preparing for the rest of the day, rather than using light to fix sleep deprivation-induced fogginess, but it’ll help there in a pinch.
Install F.lux on Your ComputerF.lux is a free program that, when enabled on your computer, reduces blue light emissions.
Wear Orange Safety GogglesOrange safety goggles may look silly, but they filter out blue light. Might be worth trying if nothing else is working.
Supplements and Other Hacks
Smart supplementation and the implementation of modern technology can do wonders. It may not be how Grok lived, but we face problems that our ancestors never had to cope with.
Get Your Leptin in OrderSleep quality and duration are strongly linked to low leptin and leptin resistance. If you recall from my posts on leptin and carb refeeds, I suggested going lower fat and higher carb on leptin refeed days, as carbs have the biggest effect on leptin levels. Avoiding excess omega-6, sugar, and grains should take care of leptin resistance. Just stick to sweet potatoes, squash, and other safe starches for your carb-heavy days, and try to have your carbs an hour or two before bed.
Check Your Thiamine IntakeThiamine, found in meat, especially pork and animal offal, has a big effect on sleep patterns: a deficiency can lead to poor sleep. Make sure you’re eating enough thiamine-rich foods. Yes, this means you may have to start eating more bacon. I’m sorry. Pair your pig flesh and chicken liver with sunflower seeds, which are also high in thiamine.
Eat Your (Beef) Heart OutTaurine is a non-essential amino acid, but dietary taurine is still very useful. New research suggests that it plays an important role in brain function, specifically with regards to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, activation of which is linked to sleepiness. It’s odd that taurine is included in most energy drinks, since it seems far more likely to sedate than energize. Eat more animal hearts, which are very high in taurine. Whole Foods usually carries frozen boxes of turkey and beef (grass-fed, too) hearts for $1.99/lb, at least in Los Angeles.
Take Magnesium (and/or Zinc)ZMA is a popular supplement combining zinc and magnesium for workout recovery and sleep improvement. Natural Calm, as popularized by Robb Wolf, is a high quality magnesium supplement that many people use for sleep support. Eating leafy greens like spinach, and nuts like almonds for magnesium, and meat/shellfish for zinc are the best ways to obtain either mineral, of course. If you opt out of nuts and greens and choose supplements, stick to magnesiums and zincs that end in “-ate” (don’t take supplements made strictly of oxide, although blends are fine).
Take MelatoninMelatonin is the primary sleep hormone. We generally produce it endogenously, but sometimes life gets in the way. If that’s the case, exogenous melatonin taken about 30 minutes before bed can help you get to sleep. Less is more with this stuff, although more has been known to lead to extremely vivid dreams. Just stick to small doses, about 0.3 mg to 1 mg to start, and be cautious: it is a hormone.
Get CoolerSome people associate warmth with sleepiness, but I’m the opposite. I need crisp, cool air if I’m going to get a good night’s sleep. If I can’t control the ambient temperature, in a pinch I’ll rub an ice pack on my inner wrists or dip my feet in cool water to (seemingly) lower my temperature a bit so I can get sleepy. It works for me. Try making your environment cooler and/or making your body cooler.
Try Guided MeditationYeah, yeah, it sounds cheesy, but I’m into it. I just tried it over the weekend right as I was going to sleep and it was fantastic. I tried the Moodstreams podcast, specifically the “Down the River” meditation. You have to listen to him promote his products at the start, but the actual “trip” is totally worth it. It got me into that weird half dream, half awake brain state (which was fun) and I just slipped off to sleep without even realizing it. Highly recommended. Here’s his blog, which contains links to the podcasts on iTunes.
Try Esther Gokhale’s “Long Lying”This recommendation is buried in my sleep posture post from way back, but it bears repeating. I still make sure to do it every time I lie down for a nap or full on sleep: You touch ground with your sacrum, lay your palms on the ground, and slowly lower yourself back, taking care to actively lengthen your spine – vertebrae by vertebrae – by pushing through your hands. Works like a charm, every single time.
Get a Massage or Foam Roll YourselfIdeally, we’d all have access to stout Swedish maids with strong butter churning hands for nightly massages, but in the real world, foam rollers will do the trick (when your significant other isn’t up to it). You may not slip off to sleep while foam rolling yourself (if you’re doing it right, you’ll be in pain), but you’ll release a lot of physical and mental tension that should make sleep easier and more satisfying. Do ten minutes of foam rolling before bed, focusing on the legs and upper back.
Have a Sleep RoutineWe are creatures of habit, and behavior, not just environmental, external cues, helps set our body’s rhythms. Take all or some of the suggestions in this post and put together a comprehensive pre-sleep ritual that you try to stick to every day. Maybe it’s turning off the lights at 6 and switching to candles, followed by a cup of herbal tea, a quick massage, and a good book before bed. Taken individually, each item might have an effect on your sleep, but taken as a whole, they become a standard ritual that you do every night to prepare your body for sleep and that acts as a cue to your circadian clock.
I also want to encourage you not to give up! Alcohol is a trickster ... it may cause you to fall asleep initially but it is not good sleep and it does disrupt sleep patterns. How do I know? For one thing it is scientifically proven and one of the devices used to determine if someone court ordered not to drink is an ankle sleep monitor. When you drink you will toss and turn, toss and turn and toss and turn destroying your rhem sleep. This is reported electronically to the monitoring company who ordered the person in for a drug/alcohol test.
Second example: personal experience. My husband was diagnosed bipolar, sleep disorder, clinically depressed and stage 4 alcoholic. For over 10 years he could not sleep despite using every sleep med out there, benzo's, anti-depressants and every health food supplement on the planet. Of course he drank like a fish during all that time but the docs never factored into the equation even though they knew his drinking issues.
Finally AF it turns out that he has NONE of the above and sleeps like a baby every night. It was the alcohol that mimicked the symptoms of bipolar, depression and sleep disorder and doctors always look for the prescription solution and easy diagnosis!
Stick with it... go alcohol free and you can get your healthy sleep back! It will take time... months in fact... but it will be worth it!
Here are some great ideas for getting better sleep...
Light Issues – The Usual
Our circadian clocks govern our sleepiness, and circadian clocks are extremely responsive to – and even dependent on – environmental light. Managing your exposure to light, especially blue light throughout the day and night can help you get to sleep at a normal time. The hormonal flux that controls our sleep schedule is complex, but sticking to ancestral light exposure norms should take care of most of it:
Sleep in a Dark RoomTotal darkness is best. That means turning off the blinking DVR, using a towel to block the light streaming in under the door, flipping your alarm clock around, and drawing the blinds. If these aren’t doable, think about wearing an eye mask or draping a dark cloth over your face. You may find that such drastic measures aren’t totally necessary (the moon’s light doesn’t seem to bother me, for example), but it’s definitely worth pursuing if you feel your sleep is lacking.
Read Before BedInstead of reaching for the laptop or the remote, why not grab a book? For one, the blue light streaming from the laptop or LCD screen will suppress your natural melatonin production, and for two, reading is a relaxing activity that nonetheless requires active engagement of your cognitive skills. Working your brain can be tiring, while watching something is usually just passive.
Embrace Candlelit DinnersCandlelit dinners aren’t just romantic; they actually promoted better sleep and more recovery from workouts for reader JD Moyer, who found that ditching all artificial lighting after dark (including computers and TV) in favor of candles made an enormous difference in both his and his wife’s lives. This is likely due to the fact that fire, especially the tiny flames lighting up a simple candle, emits little to no blue light. You know how candle light is “soft” and somehow soothing? There’s a physiological reason for that.
Get Some Exposure to Blue Light in the Morning and During the DayWhen you get up in the morning, head outside and greet the day – and the blue sky overhead (if the season permits). Go for a walk at lunch for a bit more exposure. Thankfully, some offices are beginning to employ blue light-enriched overhead lights, which has been shown to increase worker alertness. This is more about normalizing your circadian rhythm and preparing for the rest of the day, rather than using light to fix sleep deprivation-induced fogginess, but it’ll help there in a pinch.
Install F.lux on Your ComputerF.lux is a free program that, when enabled on your computer, reduces blue light emissions.
Wear Orange Safety GogglesOrange safety goggles may look silly, but they filter out blue light. Might be worth trying if nothing else is working.
Supplements and Other Hacks
Smart supplementation and the implementation of modern technology can do wonders. It may not be how Grok lived, but we face problems that our ancestors never had to cope with.
Get Your Leptin in OrderSleep quality and duration are strongly linked to low leptin and leptin resistance. If you recall from my posts on leptin and carb refeeds, I suggested going lower fat and higher carb on leptin refeed days, as carbs have the biggest effect on leptin levels. Avoiding excess omega-6, sugar, and grains should take care of leptin resistance. Just stick to sweet potatoes, squash, and other safe starches for your carb-heavy days, and try to have your carbs an hour or two before bed.
Check Your Thiamine IntakeThiamine, found in meat, especially pork and animal offal, has a big effect on sleep patterns: a deficiency can lead to poor sleep. Make sure you’re eating enough thiamine-rich foods. Yes, this means you may have to start eating more bacon. I’m sorry. Pair your pig flesh and chicken liver with sunflower seeds, which are also high in thiamine.
Eat Your (Beef) Heart OutTaurine is a non-essential amino acid, but dietary taurine is still very useful. New research suggests that it plays an important role in brain function, specifically with regards to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, activation of which is linked to sleepiness. It’s odd that taurine is included in most energy drinks, since it seems far more likely to sedate than energize. Eat more animal hearts, which are very high in taurine. Whole Foods usually carries frozen boxes of turkey and beef (grass-fed, too) hearts for $1.99/lb, at least in Los Angeles.
Take Magnesium (and/or Zinc)ZMA is a popular supplement combining zinc and magnesium for workout recovery and sleep improvement. Natural Calm, as popularized by Robb Wolf, is a high quality magnesium supplement that many people use for sleep support. Eating leafy greens like spinach, and nuts like almonds for magnesium, and meat/shellfish for zinc are the best ways to obtain either mineral, of course. If you opt out of nuts and greens and choose supplements, stick to magnesiums and zincs that end in “-ate” (don’t take supplements made strictly of oxide, although blends are fine).
Take MelatoninMelatonin is the primary sleep hormone. We generally produce it endogenously, but sometimes life gets in the way. If that’s the case, exogenous melatonin taken about 30 minutes before bed can help you get to sleep. Less is more with this stuff, although more has been known to lead to extremely vivid dreams. Just stick to small doses, about 0.3 mg to 1 mg to start, and be cautious: it is a hormone.
Get CoolerSome people associate warmth with sleepiness, but I’m the opposite. I need crisp, cool air if I’m going to get a good night’s sleep. If I can’t control the ambient temperature, in a pinch I’ll rub an ice pack on my inner wrists or dip my feet in cool water to (seemingly) lower my temperature a bit so I can get sleepy. It works for me. Try making your environment cooler and/or making your body cooler.
Try Guided MeditationYeah, yeah, it sounds cheesy, but I’m into it. I just tried it over the weekend right as I was going to sleep and it was fantastic. I tried the Moodstreams podcast, specifically the “Down the River” meditation. You have to listen to him promote his products at the start, but the actual “trip” is totally worth it. It got me into that weird half dream, half awake brain state (which was fun) and I just slipped off to sleep without even realizing it. Highly recommended. Here’s his blog, which contains links to the podcasts on iTunes.
Try Esther Gokhale’s “Long Lying”This recommendation is buried in my sleep posture post from way back, but it bears repeating. I still make sure to do it every time I lie down for a nap or full on sleep: You touch ground with your sacrum, lay your palms on the ground, and slowly lower yourself back, taking care to actively lengthen your spine – vertebrae by vertebrae – by pushing through your hands. Works like a charm, every single time.
Get a Massage or Foam Roll YourselfIdeally, we’d all have access to stout Swedish maids with strong butter churning hands for nightly massages, but in the real world, foam rollers will do the trick (when your significant other isn’t up to it). You may not slip off to sleep while foam rolling yourself (if you’re doing it right, you’ll be in pain), but you’ll release a lot of physical and mental tension that should make sleep easier and more satisfying. Do ten minutes of foam rolling before bed, focusing on the legs and upper back.
Have a Sleep RoutineWe are creatures of habit, and behavior, not just environmental, external cues, helps set our body’s rhythms. Take all or some of the suggestions in this post and put together a comprehensive pre-sleep ritual that you try to stick to every day. Maybe it’s turning off the lights at 6 and switching to candles, followed by a cup of herbal tea, a quick massage, and a good book before bed. Taken individually, each item might have an effect on your sleep, but taken as a whole, they become a standard ritual that you do every night to prepare your body for sleep and that acts as a cue to your circadian clock.
New to Real Life
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: I come in Peaces
Posts: 2,071
Sitting home alone waiting for the liquor stores is not a life to stay sober for. I didn't stay sober until sober life became more attractive than drunk life. IMHO you are setting yourself up for failure by removing alcohol but not replacing it with anything more enjoyable.
Have you ever had a sleep study done for your insomnia? Does exercise help? I think we all sleep best when we're really tired, mentally and physically.
Have you ever had a sleep study done for your insomnia? Does exercise help? I think we all sleep best when we're really tired, mentally and physically.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Chicago
Posts: 166
Originally Posted by sleepie
It's one hour and 20 minutes until the liquor store closes. I want to watch the movie that reminds me of the one I miss and drink until I fall asleep. I have been falling asleep to it lately... It's so comforting. I know it will otherwise be another sleepless night. Any feedback is appreciated. Why does something so nice have to be so toxic? I am trying to distract myself with a different movie with little success. At the last minute I am so apt to run out to the store, out of fear that I will miss it. Yes I know this conflicts with my previous post regretting time lost to drinking. I just can't stand anymore nights on solitude. People die of loneliness, maybe not directly...
This might help you, it might not. But I threw myself into AA, started reading about alcoholism, watching television about addiction and making sure I did everyday whatever was needed to make it to when the liquor stores closed without drinking.
It was so tough at first! But, one day at a time I kept doing it. Eventually I stopped watching the clock for the liquor stores to close.
I don't what it is you are watching. Sounds like there is quite a bit of pain.
You can quit drinking in the midst of pain. I quit drinking the same year my mom, brother and nephew died. It really didn't feel right to not drink at that point but I am so thankful I stuck it out.
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