steve-in-kville

My wife and I were talking today about how much my sleep patterns have changed, for the better, since I am sober. One blessing is actually being responsible for a reasonable bedtime instead of blacking out or passing out whenever!

I'd say my sleep is still all over the place a bit, but my sleep is more quality sleep than when I was drinking. Since I am a hardcore bicycle commuter, I really need 8 hours most nights, but can get away with the occasional 6 hours every once and again.

So, on average, how many hours/night (or day if you work nights) do you get? Expound as needed.

Mountainmanbob

6 hours of disrupted sleep.
TV off and on throughout the night.
A couple of trips to SoberRecovery.com.
Wake up feeling good most the time.
M-Bob

Doug39

I picked 8-9 because that is how much time I spend in bed.

During my 27 years of passing out every night from alcohol abuse I also developed sleep apnea so my sleeping pattern was awful. In the last several years I rarely sleep more than an hour without waking up.

I got treatment for the sleep apnea 6 months ago so things got a little better but I was still drinking and very overweight.

I quit drinking 63 days ago and due to anxiety and depression I still wasn't sleeping well. My doctor gave me medication to help me sleep and a few weeks ago I actually slept 9 hours straight without getting up for the first time in over 20 years.

I still wake up several times a night but I do get better rest - I used to walk around in a hungover exhausted daze all the time and only felt good when I was drinking - until I passed out.

BrendaChenowyth

If I have to work in the morning, I get 4-6, if I don't I oversleep and get 10. I tend to be in bed a lot longer, tossing and turning these days.

For the record, passing out and staying asleep for a solid 8 hours doesn't count as quality sleep.

Dee74

Usually about 6 works for me.

D

Forward12

I'm all over the place where I get on these cycles that last for weeks that are a huge pain to change. My current one is going to bed around 4-6 AM, getting about 4-5 hours of sleep, then staying up until about 3, waking up again around 7 and so on. I was doing well for quite a while, going to try a sleep aid tonight to track and get back on track.

STDragon

OMG have I ever learned to love love love my sleeps. It didn't seem to take long after I stopped drinking to start sleeping thru the night. The first several weeks (I forget how many) I could do 12 hours easy. I would get home from work and sometimes go right to bed without supper.

Now I prefer minimally 8 hours, 9 if possible, during work weeks. I'm starting to sleep in on the weekends now. No more waking up at 3am every night and stumbling to the bathroom....

If I had to vote on what I like best about being sober, sleeping would be high up on the list....

KAD

Usually somewhere between 6 and 7. If I don't get at least 6 I feel like a zombie.

FenwayFaithful

Anywhere from 4 hours to 14 hours but ideally 7-8. I work late and I'm up early for my home group 5 days a week so I nap a lot and I work a 16 hour shift Saturdays so sleep until I gotta go to work at 4 on Sundays lol. I sleep a hell of a lot better than I ever did when I was drinking and using

PhoenixJ

4 interrupted, 11 months sober

BarbieKen

Well, I wish it were uninterrupted sleep ....but 2 cats have different ideas. 2:30am every day Lucky wants t be fed. He crawls all over me till I get up. Then again at 5:30am when my husband leaves for work. I wish I could sleep through all the meows and stuff...oh well better than pass out drunk every night!

ChloeRose63

I get up way too early. The cats get me up, too, BarbieKen. I have 4 but, 3 sleep with me. The maternal instinct knows when they are active. Are they hungry? Need something else? Do they just want my attention and affection? I feel bad if I ignore them so I do my best to keep them happy. My sleep is deep but, my dreams are so vivid that I am not sure if my mind gets any rest. I have arthritis so my body gets worn out from the stiffness and pain. I use to drink that away. Now I am dealing with it sober. I take a nap when I am exhausted and lay down when I have done too much. I try not to beat myself up or push too hard because that is unproductive. I usually fall asleep by 8 or 9 and get up around 2 am. The house is up at 4 am. I must have been a farmer in my previous life. "Time to milk the cows!" lol Or a baker. "Time to make the donuts!"lol So about 5-6 hours of nightime sleep and an hour nap during the day.

OldTomato

6 to 7 hours of pretty consistent sleep. Wasn't always like that though, slept on and off throughout the day when I was drinking, and could hardly sleep at all the first week of recovery.

advbike

I had horrible sleep until I was sober for well over a year.. now it's much better after 3+ years. Here in the tropics we go to bed really early - about 9pm, and I usually wake up by 6am, as it's getting light. That's 8-9 hours, but I get up once or twice at night so it's not without interruption. No TV in our house but we all use internet or read.

Nothing better than a good workout during the day and reading before bed for good sleep.

least

My sober sleep is so good. I get at least 8 hours and wake up feeling good.

FBL

Regular sleeping patterns are one of my favorite things in sobriety. For about the last 10 years of my drinking career, I'd pass out for a few hours, then toss and turn the rest of the night. No wonder I was so tired all the time! Now I get 8 hours every night and I love it

Aellyce

Most typically between 6-8. It is usually not uninterrupted sleep though even if I can go back to sleep quite easily after short waking (I know this, if from nothing else, from the fact that I typically remember multiple dreams per night). It took me a lot of effort in sobriety to achieve this, I had horrible sleep habits as a drunk. Not only simply due to the effects of alcohol on disrupting sleep but I would often sleep with my electronic devices (laptop, iPad) next to me in bed and get on them in the middle of the night, then bye-bye sleep... Now I make sure the devices lie in a reasonable distance from my bed. I also have two cats that I love to snuggle with but do not allow them in my bed/bedroom when I have an important event the day after or otherwise need to be especially well rested. It wasn't particularly hard to train them that they get attention and fed during the day. Also, I am married but my husband and I have separate bedrooms so we can decide when we want to sleep together, when to get to sleep, how to spend the night, when to get up etc (he often likes working at night, for example, I gave that up several years ago).

JeffreyAK

It really depends, anywhere from 4 to 9 depending on what day it is and what's going on. The main thing for me is, it's restful sober sleep, and I almost never have trouble falling asleep when it's bedtime.

Bunny211

Normally about 7 hours. However, I've been going through a rough patch with a lot of anxiety and nightmares which wake me up in the middle of the night (and keep me from falling back to sleep) so last night I only got 4 1/2 hours.

paulokes

Sleep is one of the biggest blessings for me. Fought for years to get to sleep at night and often overslept after falling asleep around 4am.

Now I mostly get 7 hours or so and get to sleep pretty quickly. Booze was NOT helping my sleeping problems.

P