Starflyer

Just like everybody else on this website that has struggled with the terrible and cruel problems of getting sober, I'm curious.

Does anyone have any advice to help keep the insomnia at bay when quitting alcohol?

Nineteen67

Exercise, lots of.

Dee74

I think a certain amount of insomnia is part of nearly everyones journey.
How long has it it been starflyer?

D

Bostonsportsfan

That's been hard for me, alcohol puts me to sleep and it's hard to move on from that.

Starflyer

I've been drinking just about 10 years, Dee. If I try to have an alcohol free night I end up tossing and turning in bed for God only knows. There is a certain moment when you stop staring at the clock, and it starts staring back at you.

Bostonsportsfan

So how do you sleep without alcohol? It's not easy.

EndGameNYC

I'm not one to run to the medicine cabinet whenever I have a problem in living, but insomnia can be a killer. I rarely had a good night's sleep before I first got sober. After that, my insomnia got worse. At that time, L-Tryptophan, a natural amino acid, was available, and it did make a difference. It has since gone off the market, at least in New York, and I haven't checked as to whether or not it is available since then. Some people swear by other natural remedies such as Valerian Root, which comes in liquid and pills. I used to mix it with Camomile tea before bed, but that too had limited effect.

About twelve years into sobriety, I broke with my embargo on sleep meds since my insomnia had gotten progressively worse to the extent that it was affecting my health and mental well being. I'd been training in a traditional style of martial arts and running 10k to 20k seven days a week for the entire time I was sober. The exercise allowed m to fall asleep, but not to stay asleep.

There are prescription solutions available that are non-addictive. Consult with your physician, and be honest about your history.

Dee74

I drank for 20 years - daily for at least 5 years before I quit.

It took me about a week to get back into some kind of pattern - didn't sleep at all the first night, slept fitfully the second...but it got better.

Like I said, nearly everyone has to face to this...sometimes you have to bite the bullet I think.

If you feel concerned about this, see your Dr.

D

Coldfusion

Maybe you should try putting your alarm clock where can't see it.

I found that quitting drinking was unbearable. I went to the hospital (instead of drinking more). They sent me to a week of in-patient detox.

In detox, we were in very unusual sleeping conditions. Since I was undergoing a supervised detox, I was prescribed something to relieve anxiety and it also helped me sleep.

By the time I got back home, I was over any withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, and have slept well ever since.

EndGameNYC

Medically supervised detox is underrated.

Bubovski

I have found the herbal remedies you mention fairly helpful.

Benzodiazepines cannot be recommended, long term, by virtue of their highly addictive nature and consequential withdrawal syndrome.

EndGameNYC

Agreed. I used benzos to great effect and without incident for many years. Though I never developed an addiction for them, I did develop tolerance for them, and so subsequently stopped.

cheapredwino

If you google cheese, you'll find that it's been found to promote a good night's sleep.
Not a good idea if you're suffering constipation though.

GPL

I am only 3 to 4 days without drinking but I bought some "sleepy time" tea. Two to three cups with some honey and I make myself go to bed. First night I tossed and turned a lot with weird dreams that I felt like I could control and stop if they got to weird. Second night was better. Third night I slept great.

bigsombrero

There are worse things than not sleeping. If you can't sleep...get up and get on wikipedia and learn about Aboriginal rights in Australia or the diversity of bat species in Costa Rica. Or read gardening tips.

The worst part about insomnia is that you start to play head games. Sleep becomes the ultimate goal, the most important thing in life. The pressure to sleep creates an impossible obstacle and you can't win that game. So get up. Turn on CNN and watch the news. I think you'll find yourself drowsing off and getting into bed in no time.

For more specific recommendations: One thing that helped me was downloading some podcasts to listen to at night. On itunes there is a great series called "Classic Tales" which gives you free audio books that are sometimes hours long. There is another online podcast you can download called "Hardcore History" by Dan Carlin, these podcasts are often hours long and detail things like the Mongolian conquest, the fall of the Roman Empire, etc. They help me sleep.

soberlicious

"To them I'm just a happy meal" lol

I agree with with bigsombrero. The more you fight it, the worse it is.

Give your body and mind time to find equilibrium again. It takes time after being poisoned for so long, but it will happen eventually.

2granddaughters

I began to pray.

My insomnia was caused by my arrogant perception that if I wasn't "at the wheel" constantly that something bad would happen or something wouldn't get done (right).

My group leader in the recovery home told me to put my "garbage bag full of things that absolutely had to be done by ME" on the shelf for the night and go to sleep. I could pick the bag back up in the morning if I wanted to.

I knew he was right .. and there was no way in hell that I could ever do it... so I asked God for help to quiet my mind. I repeated the Serenity Prayer and the Lord's Prayer and soon I was asleep. It worked !! imagine that.

At the time I was a half-baked AA wanna-be and I found that picking up the Big Book put me to sleep in a short time too. More out of boredom than serenity.

I find that the answer to a good nights sleep is a day of doing God's Will .. not mine.

All the best.

Bob R

EndGameNYC

It's not often discussed, and many people (like me) choose to "tough it out" with insomnia, but losing sleep or routinely experiencing broken sleep can cause major health issues. Many people go as far as to proudly announce that they only need three or four hours each night. Sleep is not a luxury; when you make the choice to leave your insomnia untreated, you are opening yourself up to major medical and mental health issues. Denial is no less dangerous when struggling with insomnia than it is with any other mental health or medical condition.

Many hospitals now offer sleep studies/sleep treatment centers for a range of symptoms and conditions related to insomnia. Sleep apnea, for example, which is a major medical condition that is known to lead to obesity, diabetes and heart disease, is also commonly untreated since people who have it tend to think that their only problem is that they snore. Not true. For these folks, their regular breathing patters switch on and off throughout the night, leaving them tired and groggy when they awaken, and with their central nervous system under attack.

Many alcoholics while active will take any pill, drink an liquid, and snort any powder to feel different and maintain some type of high. And then many of these people, when sober, become dedicated "virgins" when it comes to helpful treatment and/or medication. Anything that's not "natural" is "bad" and threatens their sobriety.

Personal preference is one thing; but placing your health and your life in jeopardy -- particularly when you have loved ones who depend on you -- is both dangerous and irresponsible.

soberlicious

Very true endgame, but the OP has just very recently quit drinking. It would be difficult at this stage to know what is causing the insomnia. It could reasonably take several months free of alcohol to sort itself out, but until then I would think it would be difficult know whether this is simply a symptom of withdrawl or whether something more aggressive is needed.

EndGameNYC

I agree. I did not intend to speak to any one individual. I went for about three years in sobriety with sleepless nights and broken sleep, until I used L-Tryptophan to help me sleep. But I'd suffered severe insomnia since my earliest memory, at about age four. Alcohol knocked me out, but I never felt rested when I came to the next morning.

I was in graduate school in early sobriety and working full-time as well. I had very few problems at work, but nearly always fell asleep while working on my studies, sometimes falling out in class.

Where I may differ from you -- and I might be wrong about this -- is that I don't think there is a bad time to treat insomnia. There are several natural remedies non-addictive meds with mild side-effect profiles that one can use in order to experience decent sleep in early sobriety, a time when our neurons are typically misfiring and exploding, and when we often doubt our own sanity.