soberbythesea

Now that I'm actually sleeping instead of passing out (for the most part a good experience), I'm having very vivid dreams in my sleep, not all of them good. I am completely substance-free so there's nothing of that nature that could be causing nightmares.

Any ideas on why this is happening? Anyone else experience this? Or have I just been devoid of normal sleep for so long that I've forgotten what it's like? BTW, several of the bad dreams have been about drinking -- I have dreams that I messed up and drank, then wake up and think "oh thank goodness, I didn't really." I'm pretty familiar with that type of dream as I get them about eating meat occasionally (even after 3 years vegetarian), but they are still annoying/disturbing.

Dee74

hi SBTS

Drinking dreams are very common...I don't know the science behind them or why they're so vivid but I know drinking was a big part of my life for 20 years (the biggest)...so I guess it's natural to dream about it.

If my experience is typical, they lessen over time
D

Ghostly

What you're describing seems to be fairly common from what I've read on this site. Given your still having dreams about eating meat you may have these dreams for quite a while. At least you're sleeping. Good luck.

MelindaFlowers

Hi Soberbethesea!

I also had pretty bad nightmares during my early days of sobriety. By the end of my drinking I was an anxiety-ridden mess. Three things specifically that haunted me were checking my outbox/inbox on my phone and email, checking my facebook page the next morning, and trying to piece together the events of the night before.

I think those three things gave me some sort of post traumatic stress and I would dream about them quite often, wake up, realize after a few minutes that I did not do any of those three things, and move on with my day. However, sometimes the fear was so real from the dream that it would kind of stick with me all day.

They'll go away with time. I'll take a few nightmares in my sleep every now and then any day.

One tip that's helped me: Watch something ridiculously warm, fuzzy, and happy before bed, like Disney's Fox and the Hound or The Sound of Music. That's helped me a bunch!

Nightmares aside, isn't a wonderful feeling to wake up now? I think that mornings are slowly becoming my favorite time of the day.

gcc572

I think it is normal once we stop drinking. I have had crazy nightmares for the past 2weeks, some nights not so bad while others I wake in a panic. I've also been having drinking dreams, some that were so real that it took me a minute or two once I wake to realize I actually hadnt drank the day/night before.

soberbythesea

Thanks you guys, it's nice to know this is normal and I'm not the only one.

It is definitely better waking up now, regardless Especially knowing that I didn't do anything dumb the night before...

LaFemme

Ironically, I had vivid, terrifying nightmares that I remembered in detail every morning of my drinking career. Since sobriety I know I have dreams but I can't really remember them, with one exception of a drinking dream, and last nights dream about a goldfish jumping out of a bowl.

wpainterw

Yes, although I am not a physician, I have had the same experience and understand that it is quite common. I have been told that perhaps it is due to the likelihood that when one sleeps under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, there may be a lessening of what is called REM (rapid eye motion) sleep, which often accompanies dreaming. I have also been told that scientists are not entirely sure of why we seem to need REM or dreaming sleep, but it may well be that, as soon as the alcohol and other drugs get out of our system, the brain wants to make up for lost time. It means you're getting well!
In the first few weeks or months of recovery, I recall my dreams being exceptionally vivid and sometimes involving alcohol. Even now, after 21 plus years of sobriety, I sometimes have dreams about booze. I'm certainly thankful when I wake up and realize that I'm still sober! Maybe my higher power is telling me to be always careful, despite all those long years.

Wpainterw

TexasNative

The mornings are now my fave part of the day. When it's time to crash and I'm feeling tired from the day I love looking forward to waking up rested and happy, not sick and tired.

soberbythesea

Yup.

I also sleep through the night now -- which I usually didn't back when I drank. I always heard all that stuff about how alcohol fragments your sleep, but I blew it off.

After going to bed, almost every night I would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning with my mouth still tasting of alcohol (even if I had brushed my teeth), and extremely thirsty. I'd go to the bathroom, brush my teeth again, chug some water, and go back to bed. At that point there was usually a 50-50 chance that I'd fall right back to sleep -- sometimes the interruption of being woken up like that would keep me awake for another hour or two, until I finally fell back to sleep from sheer exhaustion.

I don't miss that ritual, not at all.