Anodyne

Hi Everyone.

I'm me and I'm an alocholic.

I'm on my 28th day sober, and I just...want to sleep, alll the time.

It gets me really irritated. Maybe not ALL the time, because at night I find it hard to sleep, and then I want to sleep all day. I woke up at 9:45 this morning, went back to sleep until 11, then went back to sleep until 12:30,which I had set my alarm for, since it IS football day, afterall, then I hit my snooze six times and didn't get up till 1:30, and I STILL want to go lay down and sleep again now.

It kind of worries me that I'm depressed or something.

I've read about sleep disturbances, changes in time and continuity etc, for people newly sober, but it's really starting to irk me.

Any words of advice?

Anna

Hi,

Yeah, sleep disturbances are hard to deal with and I think they're very common. You might try staying awake during the day, if you can, and kind of gently pushing your body towards sleeping at night. Your sleep patterns might improve then.

And, yes, it could be depression, but it's still fairly early in recovery and you might find that after a few months the depression lifts. If not, it would be a good idea to talk to your dr.

Rowan

Hey Anondyne,

You may wish to check out this link - I'm not sure if you're familiar with PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) - sleep disturbances are common in early sobriety.
I STILL love to sleep a lot.

http://www.tlctx.com/ar_pages/paw_part1.html

Don't be too hard on yourself, rest when you can, and things will work out.
Well done on your 28 days!!

Anodyne

Yeah, someone linked me to a site about PAWS before on here, it was pretty helpful/interesting.

But man, it gets frustraiting.

And I feel like a wuss/moron for griping to all you folks who have months and years and decades sober.

I'm such a rookie :\

Rowan

Don't be so hard on yourself, it's a major accomplishment for an alcoholic to even string together a couple of days without a drink, so cut yourself some slack!
A problem shared is a problem halved - so PLEASE - keep posting.
You might be helping someone.

SaTiT

Congrats on you 28 days.
it's still earily in your sobiety. Your mind and body
is still trying to make adjustments.
Also keep in mind that your body heals during your sleep, if you rest.

this is why it's suggested that you attend 90 meetings in 90 days.
At the very least, it'll get you into a routine and get you to be
somewhat active.

This is where a treament center can be helpful, depending if you
ever had or didn't have any type of structure in your life.

Don't be so hard on yourself. You are awear of it and wish or want
to change it..that's always the begining...recognition.

Set your alarm clock and try to get up on your regular hours.
Try to stay up as long as you can..maybe going outside
or spending the day out of your home
Kind of like jet lag. it's not going to happen over night, but
if you start changing your routine that sooner you'll break this
cycle.

The more you stay out of your bed room , it'll be easier you'll be
able to sleep during your sleeping schedule.

Excersize will also give you more energy and help depression.
Maybe just start taking simple walks

stone

I hardly slept in the first month and then spent a week or two where I was sleeping all the time. I am at 4 months now and my sleep is getting more normal but it is still affected.

Congrats on 28 days!

Jersey Nonny

Used to hate repeatedly hearing it from my sponsor during early sobriety; but, she was so right. "No one ever died from lack of sleep." And, the sleep patterns do level off in time...just be patient...and don't drink.

Jerzy007

A wise man (psychDoctor) once told me this SLEEP=HEALING!! Happy ZZZZ's

Budd

Good going on the 28 days. I hope everything works out for you.

Captain Kirk

Hi!
Me too. I'm on about Day 35 and it's been a few days now that I've been sleeping like 12 to 14 hours a day.
Let us know how you get on

stone

Sleep deprivation is a serious thing and can contribute to mental breakdowns etc, see http://www.medindia.net/news/Sleep-d...ts-28338-1.htm, for example.

I hate the glib AA slogan "No one ever died from lack of sleep."

citychick

Your body will heal as will your mind. Probably a lot quicker than you think...well thats how it was for me. My sleep pattern wasn't exactly what I'd call 'normal' till about the 90 day mark...congratulations on your sober time...

Jersey Nonny

Took your suggestion, and checked out that site, Stone. This is an excerpt from it:

Quote:

In the new study, Walker’s team assigned 26 healthy people to either a sleep-deprivation group—in which participants were kept awake for about 35 hours—or a normal sleep group. On the following day, the study subjects’ brains were scanned by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which measures brain activity on the basis of blood flow, while viewing 100 images. The images were at first emotionally neutral, but became increasingly aversive over time.

Clearly, the "glib" AA slogan doesn't refer to extreme sleep deprivation; and, although annoying, I was comforted by my sponsor's assurance that an occasional restless, sleep-interrupted night was not fatal.

Allow me to add another "glib" AA slogan for those of you experiencing a disruption in normal sleep patterns during early sobriety: "This, too, shall pass."

stone

I went for days and days without sleep during withdrawals, I just cant stand that phrase is all.

Jersey Nonny

Now that I'm in the "twilight" years of my life, I'm again losing sleep...the only good thing is, I don't have to worry about getting up for work anymore. And, I'm able to make up for it with a "power nap" in the afternoon. I was beginning to think I had my days and nights reversed...but, it evened out a bit. I guess as long as I'm able to get a few hours of sleep, I'll live with the annoyance.

GretaG

32 days here. I'm literally exhausted all. the. time. Like a walking zombie. I'm still productive, just not alot of energy.

I'm sleeping like a rock, though. While I was at the treatment center (for 2 weeks) they didn't allow caffeine. Since I went thru caffeine withdrawal while there (awful headaches!) I decided to stay off caffeine henceforth.

That may be contributing to my lethargy. I must admit, I'm really enjoying the sound sleep! Now if I could just get more energy for during the day!

Tyra

At Midnight Tonight I Will Have Four Months Clean. I Am Sleeping My Butt Off Also. I'm Sleeping All Day And Night. Diffrence Is, I Dont Feel Bad About It. I Took On Too Much In Early Recovery. I Went Back To A Full Time Schedule In School, Stopped Using And Moved To A New State. I Didnt Allow Myself Time To Adjust. I Activated My Mental Illness/addiction Big Time. My Husband, Therapist, And I Decided I Should Withdraw From The Semester, And Rest. I Have The Time And Ability To Make Online Supports And Rest And I Plan On Doing Just That. I Am Sure Life Will Get Busy Enough As Time Goes On. Keep Posting And Talking About How You Feel. It Helps Tremendously. Congradulations On Your Sober Time. Good Job

barb dwyer

Let your body do what it has to ... to heal up first.

Don't EVER feel like what you have to share isn't 'wise' or whatever enough.
We're not here so much to help you ... as you being here .. helps us all.
Your honesty helped others with the same problem come forward.