Wishful78

One of my biggest problems I have run into while drinking is that I can't sleep. Can't shut it off once I start. The Rolling Stones Start Me Up comes to mind. Because after I have had a nice buzz from drinking I always no fail get amped up like I drank a bunch of coffee. And the more I drink the more amped up I get till something stupid happens like I wake my wife up and she's pissed because I am loaded. Or I stumble around mumbling like a jack ass tills body crashes. Every other bad drunk I have known passes out. Does anyone else deal with this chemical craziness?

ricmcc

i had terrible sleep habits when i drank; either I'd put off sleep, having too much fun, doing what was, in retrospect, basically nothing, or I'd go to bed, only to get up frequently to use the washroom. One of the real, but often ignorned, benefits of not drinking is the manner which it can help one get into a good sleep routine. I should mention that all recent research seems to show that sleep is extremely importand, even more than they used to think. Maybe the best way to deal with it would be to stop drinking, see how that goes? All the best--rick

john44

I absolutely sleep much better wwhen I don' t drink. After quitting there's a period of about 2 weeks when sleep is almost impossible, but after that I return to 7 or so hours of deep, uninterrupted, restful sleep. This alone is reason enough to not drink again. Although, of course, there are many other good reasons.

SullyS

I slept like a rock when I drank and could sleep through anything. Maybe I was always just passed out though. I do know that the sleep I did get wasn't restful at all and I was always tired the next day no matter how much sleep I got.

Not to sure how this thread has to do with recovery....maybe one of the numerous reasons to quit drinking....if you really want to?

john44

I think any benefit one receives from quitting drinking is a huge part of recovery and should be freely and happily shared.

ReadyAtLast

Totally agree with you John.I am exactly the same

Fandy

I've always battled insomnia, sleeping solid sober is one of the best perks of sobriety.
I used to try to drink myself back to sleep. I would pass out and then have to wake up for work, i was averaging maybe 3.5-4 hours all week long. I could count on one hand the nights all year i would get 7 or 8 hours.
Now i regularly sleep 6.5-8 hours all the time, i feel 10 years younger with real energy,not like a hungover bloated sick mess every day.
It took about 3-4 weeks to get back to a healthy sleep pattern, i still have nights when i wake up at 3am, but know it is a short term problem.

jazzfish

I would pass out...I mean, fall asleep on the couch every night. I could sleep a couple of hours, but then I was up at 2am and could not sleep again until 5am or so. Alcohol induced insomnia is very common. However, it sounds like you just could get to sleep at all. That was not me at all.

Amelia99

After drinking I would pass out for a couple of hours and then wake up with a jolt of anxiety long before any reasonable person would be awake. Sleep was impossible after that. Now that I'm not drinking my sleep is so regular it's almost uncanny - fall right to sleep at 10pm and wake up rested at 6am. It did take a little bit to regulate after I quit but it was definitely worth it.

paul99

I used to deal with craziness on many different levels until I stopped and stayed stopped. Regular, restful sleep is just one of the many benefits of a sober life. Are you looking to stop drinking or advice on how to deal with alcohol-related behaviours? You'll find a lot more helpful advice her for the former rather than the latter.

robgt350

yea i have this problem too. but if you stop and few months later i was able to sleep good.

sugarbear1

Do some research....alcohol is a depressant and for the social drinker, alcohol acts as a sedative, but for those of us with alcoholism it acts more or less as a stimulant and can rev us up (and not really like a stimulant, but it can get us "going" a bit).

I drank enough until I passed out, which I called "going to sleep." Of course I didn't sleep soundly as I would wake up several times a night to use the bathroom.

I sleep through the night today and need about 7.5 hours to feel rested.

caboblanco

when alcohol is processed in your body after a certain amount of hrs it turns into a stimulant. That is why you can fall asleep when drunk but as soon as the hangover sets in at about 3 am or so you are up for the rest of the night. I don't think everybody experiences this but i certainly did. i never slept through the night when i drank a lot. that was the worst part of the hangover for me

john44

A phenomenon of alcohol induced sleep is the almost total absence of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is the level of sleep where learning is integrated and processed and where we experience dreams. It's also believed to be the stage of sleep where our "batteries are recharged". Perhaps why we don't feel rested after an alcohol induced sleep.

Typically, normal sleep consists of approximately 30% REM. After stopping drinking, REM sleep can reach up to 90% of sleep, gradually returning to normal.

This may be why we remember dreams more in early recovery, simply because we're dreaming more. Drug/drinking dreams seem to take place more often during this phase, as do very vivid dreams and sometimes nightmares.

Is this the mind/body trying to heal itself? Perhaps. I like to think so. I do know it's great to be sleeping well aagain.

Dee74

I never slept when I was drinking...the best I could hope for was to pass out for an hour or two.

I sleep like a baby now I don't drink, Wishful - just another of the many benefits of sobriety

It took a couple of weeks for me to readjust for sure, but why not give it a go?
D

Wishful78

Thanks for all the replies. I started this thread to just ask if anyone else experienced alcohol acting more as a stimulant and keeping them up. Sugarbear you gave me a great response. I just never have met anyone else like me who gets so revved up. And this is no a thread to figure out how to deal with it and go out and tear it up. Haven't drank since last week and have no plan or interest to do so. I was doing great before that fall off as well. Had a couple of weeks under my belt. Going to be fighting the good fight. Just wanted to post this to see if any one dealt or deals with this the way I have. I always hated cocaine. Tried it when I was 18 and left it behind except one night of drunkin idiocracy a few years ago where I did it. But needless to say I have hung out with a bunch of people on coke through my years as much as I hate it because they were the only ones who could stay up with me. Everyone else would pass out. Just have always wondered does anyone else in this world have that type of chemical imbalance. long poster sorry.

buckeye1055

Thanks to all who commented on this sleeping situation...i resently stoped drinking and for the first 4 or 5 days i didnt get any sleep. Im still not sleeping well but i can tell its getting better. Thanks to those who said it may take a litttle bit cause i thought something was really really wrong with me....guess just work the steps and the sleep will come
thanks

Wishful78

I find that not drinking my sleep patterns definitely get more normal. I travel all the time though so the time zones screw me up. But still I know I am getting quality sleep. Not just sleeping off hangover