Fishersblue

I've been struggling w/ dependency for nearly the last year where social drinking and occasionally heavy drinking has accelerated to almost nightly heavy drinking (5-7 beers per night perhaps more). During this time I've developed sleep disturbances such as acting out dreams and violent nightmares that have jerked me awake. Similar to sleep paralysis though I'm reacting to the dream content. Has anyone who's struggled w/ dependency experienced similar sleep disturbances, and did they improve after a period for recovery?

Skyhawker

I've heard they are common. I'm finding that I sleep sounder now, but my friends still say I mumble and snore... However, 6 months ago at the cabin my brother said I screamed really loudly and then went back to sleep, I don't remember any of it, which is probably a good thing. I did research on it and it is called night terrors, and is common to people whom abuse alcohol. I've been told that I used to sleep walk too...I went to bed in my room and woke up in the guest bedroom without knowing how I got there. Kinda scary, but at least no harm came out of it. I live alone so I don't know if the night terrors have gone away since I stopped drinking. Time will tell...

ScottFromWI

Absolutely - I dealt with that in the latter stages of my drinking, and the insomnia and fitful sleep continued into my sobriety for a time. But yes, it definitely improved over time. Alcohol is a CNS depressant, so years of abuse literally alter your brain chemistry - taking it away sends things for a loop as well.

I personally also dealt with anxiety so I needed to address that too, but many of the standard things that one might suspect can help - eating right, exercise, water, avoiding sugar/stimlants like caffeine. Another biggie is to avoid stimulating tv/internet activities for at least an hour before bedtime. Social media and news also tend to get people all worked up and mess with your body's ability to relax.