homeworker

I have made the decision to quit drinking again and I'm VERY worried about the lack of sleep I know I'm going to get.

Last time I quit I went back to the booze after lack of sleep. I'm sure many of you know that each hour feels like a day when you initially pack in drinking, so not being able to sleep makes 24 hours seem like a month!

My main problems in staying off the booze is lack of sleep and boredom. I work from home during the day and of a night I can't go out with friends as all we ever do is drink together so I feel as tho I'm in the house all the time (I can't think of anything to do out of the house alone). Add to that lack of sleep and it's enough to get me reaching for a glass or ten of wine to sleep.

If I could sleep, I think I'd have a good chance of quitting the drink for good.

Read the Allen Carr book 'no more hangovers' and that has reinforced why I shouldn't drink and has helped but i can't bear the thought of only getting 2/3 hours sleep a night.

I've started running again so hopefully that will help me sleep but still feel anxious that I won't sleep

Can anyone offer any advice for a second time newbie? Thanks in advance

CarolD

Glad to know you are again planning for sober living...

Please check out this link of sleeping tips

Insomnia? 41 Simple Tips to Help You Get to Sleep - Insomnia treatment, cures

You might want to consider attending AA meetings too.
It's a good place to find non drinking friends.

Hope you will find your answers...
Recovery Rocks!

homeworker

Cheers CarolD

Read it thro and been looking at other stuff on net. Think I just need to get on with it and accept I won't sleep or will sleep badly for a week or so.

If I want to be sober bad enough lack of sleep won't stop me......

Tomorrow will be day 1.

Once again, thanks.x

flgirl

Homeworker,

I am just starting day 11, and I am just starting to be able to sleep. Hang in there!

:ghug3

homeworker

flgirl - day 11 seems soooooooooo far away for me. Well done you! x

Ananda

You know, lots of people told me a lack of sleep never killed anyone. Well, maybe not directly....but my dr. told me that lack of sleep was a major contributing factor to my physical lack of health and my mental inability to cope.

So...if the sleep problem is short term - that's one thing. But i had to discuss this situation with my dr.s and i ended up needing proper medication taken as directed. This has not yet lead to any problems for me.

So - discuss with a dr.

Of course it seems from what i've read on this site that many alchoholics and adicts have short term sleep problems that don't require meds...so take my expereince with a grain of salt and a doctor consult

Anna

Hi Homeworker,

Lots of good advice here and be patient, because your sleep patterns will probably settle down eventually.

And, yes, I agree with Ananda. I have chronic insomnia and my dr told me, it's as bad for a person to lack sleep chronically, as it is to not exercise or eat a poor diet. So, don't listen to people who tell you lack of sleep never killed anyone.

If you're looking for something to do out of the house, on your own, try volunteer work. Take a look around your community and see what you can offer.

homeworker

Many thanks to all of you for your advice. I'm just going to get on with it, I've got so much to do this year - training for the marathon, starting open university course, wanting to shift my depression.

It's already p*ssing me off that I won't sleep (I know I won't) but at least I know in the middle of the night I can pick up my Allen Carr book and come here and read posts to keep focused. I need to stop the self pitying crap and just get on with it. You will all probably get some, middle of the night, self pitying posts from me - hopefully in my coming days of sobriety, I will look back at them and laugh while realising giving up the drink wasn't that difficult.....mind over matter and all that.

Honu

To me, it seems that after many nights of not being able to sleep, my body finally has had enough, and I sleep like a baby.

Maybe, you could read, meditate, take a hot bath, use a sound machine...thunderstorms, babbling brook...whatever soothes you, go get a massage, and be the last appointment of the day, so that you come home really relaxed, work out really good so that your body is tired.

Things to get out of the house alone: go for a long walk in the woods, park, somewhere quiet, watch the birds, look at the foilage--flowers, etc., go for a run, go to the gym, go to a movie, sign up for a class..cooking, decorating, some kind of evening class. You'll most likely meet non-drinkers there, too.

Good luck!

Honu

coming_clean

the first few nights can be tough, but eventually you'll wear yourself out, and then sleep will come again...

take care, stay clean!

FizzyWater

I'm on day 23 and sleep has settled down now, sleeping really well, although it was day 5 ish before I got a good sleep and probably 2 weeks before I got any kind of pattern. What I suffered worst from was sleeping for half an hour to an hour and waking up shakey and covered in sweat.

I try and stay up until I'm really tired so that when I go to bed I hopefully fall asleep, hate laying in bed trying to sleep. Also put the radio on and listened to the chat on Radio 5 or talk sport in bed when it was really bad, didn't help me sleep but it took my mind of things.

I'm reading a different Allan Carr book " coping without alcohol ", wonder if its the same as your " no more hangovers ". What I find is helping me is having a few books on the go depending my mood. As well as that book I'm currently reading Peter Kay's book which is very funny and a Minnette Walters crime story. Also read Paul McGraths autobiography and the last Harry Potter book in the last 3 weeks. I quite often buy The Times as well as my normal SUN as theres always a lot of reading in it. Personally I find that reading different things takes my mind off the fact I'm not drinking.

Training for a Marathon is impressive, drinking can't have hurt your fitness too much then. One of the things I realise is that all the beer and sitting around has left me quite unfit. I play 5 a side football on a friday but thats about it, and up to 3 weeks ago I was always drinking as soon as I finished playing which probably negated any good it did me.

5's were cancelled last night and I decided to go for a run beside the river, I say run but anyone who saw me would say for most of it I was at no more than a brisk walk. Took the car to a quiet spot so not too many people saw me peching, don't know but probably did a couple of miles, not far but hopefully a step in the right direction, least it won't be 14 days with no excercise when I play footaball next week. Plan to maybe go out and do it again tomorrow but we'll see if I do or not when it comes to it.

Hope you get and stay well homeworker

FizzyWater

Oh, how did I forget this, start posting the the less than 2 weeks sober thread, everyone in there is going through the same as you and I found it supportive and an incentive to keep going. Think I posted in there every day during my first 14 days and got to know some computer friends.

joelle

Hi, going through sleep issues like you. Day 23 for me, the sleep is getting better. Exercise, I've read, will definitely help recovery, but don't exercise too late in the day or it can interfere with sleep. My doctor suggested Tylenol PM, and I've read that it works best if you only take one, not two. I also find a cup of warm milk soothing...put some honey and cinnamon in it, and it tastes great. Hot chocolate works, too! I also do deep breathing, and consciously repeat an affirmation that I've used for years when sleep is difficult ("I feel calm, at peace, at ease"...and really focus on trying to feel those things). Let us know how it goes....we'll work through this together.

mle-sober

Homeworker,

Great job buckling down to the necessary work of stopping the drink! I'm glad you are here at SR. You sound very bound and determined. So, good for you! This is not an easy thing we do.

Regarding the sleep issue, it sounds loke you've had it before and like others here have also experienced it with initial sobriety. So, hopefully, you are right and it will correct itself with some time.

I completely agree with Ananda and Anna however, that if it doesn't correct itself, insomnia is no small thing and it needs to be addressed. Going without sleep actually does cause all kinds of problems in your body and is not just a symptom that you need to cope with. So don't be shy about going to your doctor if your sleeping problems don't improve with as you get sober.

I'm gald you're here! Keep posting!

- MLE

colagirl

Hi homeworker,
Have you ever tried melatonin? I started using it to help jet lag when I travel to Europe (live in the US), and I sometimes still use it if I know I need a really good night's sleep and am afraid I won't get one. It's a natural supplement that you can get at a vitamin or health food store. The time-release works best for me since I tend to fall asleep okay but then wake up after only a couple of hours. I haven't had any issues with getting addicted to it, and I tend to get addicted to things (obviously).

Good luck!

homeworker

Thanks to everyone for your wise words.I am going to fast to overcome my addiction, I have read about it on the net and it seems the right way for me to go (I've fasted before on many occassions).

Also, note to Fizzy Water, I said I was training for a marathon, I didn't say I was fit lol. My legs are killing me after last run and I'm out again in the morning - ouch! As for people watching you run..... I feel self concious when running but all I do to get over it is put on my ipod and listen to good tunes while all those dirty nasty toxins drip out of my body. Sounds disgusting but there is nothing better than that cold shower after running and knowing I've at least done one good thing today. Note to self:exercise each day and don't drink. Sounds simple doesn't it?x

goneriding

Hello Homeworker: I, too, work from home (as a graphic/website designer) and boredom is my main factor. I have successfully quit drinking about 1.5 years ago but have picked up other habits along the way, which brings me back to SR - should just follow my intuition and stay here at SR. I found that I would color in coloring books, draw, play mindless games, etc. anything to pass the time. You can do it, I found taking Valerian Root and Benadryl helps me the most when I can not sleep. Melatonin works great too. I also find that the more I hyperfocus on something that has not happened yet (like not sleeping) the more it happens to me :-). Keep posting - this place is phenominal and has seen me through many ups and downs - we will be here.

homeworker

It's 3.30 in the morning and I can't sleep booooooooooo. I've tried the usual bath, milky drink, reading, deep breathing, valerian all to no avail.

I can't complain as it is, so far, my only withdrawal symptom but it's soooo frustrating.

My question is - what do you think is best - do I still get up at my normal time and spend the day shattered but at least knowing I have a better chance of sleeping tomorrow night?

Or when sleep eventually comes should I not set the alarm and sleep as long as I need to?

Thanks in advance.
Wide awake homeworker

joelle

I don't know, homeworker....maybe you'll need to try both ways and see what works for you. If I had to bet, it would be to wake up at your normal time, so that you don't start resetting your waking cycle. I do know that I was a big napper (er, sleeping off the effects of alcohol, it was many times)...anyway, that really messed my sleep cycle, not to mention the nasty effect that alcohol had on it, too. Now that I'm (newly) sober (day 27), I have had sleep issues but have found that if I resist naps, sleep is gradually getting better as recovery progresses.