Couldn't Sleep, Now I Sleep a Lot
 

When I stop drinking, I can't sleep much at all for the first week or so. I can't get any real restful sleep. I lie in bed, but my mind races constantly and I have incredibly vivid dreams. When I DO sleep, I usually wake up every hour on the hour with severe panic attacks. I'm hyper-aware of my heart rate, and think my heart is going to seize up at any moment. I often have to get up, and it takes awhile to calm down and go back to sleep. Then, I wake up in an hour or so with it happening all over again.

After the first week the panic attacks and sleeplessness go away, and I sleep a lot. I can easily sleep 10+ hours. More, if I didn't have to get up for work.

How has sobriety affected your sleep patterns?

I'm so glad you posted this thread.
I'm exactly the same. I still worry about not falling asleep, but once I am I allow myself 8 hours; however weekends without an alarm clock I easily sleep 10-11 hours. I didn't want to post it, because I know how bad it is at first and a lot of people on here suffer badly from insomnia. I'm almost sure some may even relapse because of it. So me saying 'hey I can sleep forever' just didn't seem right. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone. I guess our bodies just convert back to the natural sleeping pattern everybody has. Ours just need more.

I think it pretty much affects most peoples sleep patterns. Chamomile herbal tea is very relaxing I found, along with plenty of walks. The first 2 or 3 nights are the worst but then everything (for me) gets normal again and I sleep like a baby :)

I have suffered from chronic fatigue since i stopped drinking over a year ago, is this common and what can i do about it?

When I first quit drinking I was the same. It was real hard to get to sleep and I kept waking up. It stayed this way for a couple of months if I remember right.
Now I can sleep a normal nights sleep but only if I don't nod out on the couch in the afternoon or evening while watching TV.
I am staying at the computer and posting here in my down time in order to do that.
Learner2.
This does not sound normal to me. Maybe you should see your doctor about it.
I don't know a lot about sleeping disorders but I do know my grown son went and got tested at a sleep clinic and it is better now. I don't know any of the other details because I was mostly high and drunk. How sad is that. :)

I am struggling alot with sleep. I couldnt sleep again last night and have to work today. Its starting to affect me at work because I have a fast paced job and need to be on the move alot. I think its my mind though, I need to find a way to slow down my mind then I will be ok. I still have to get my butt into gear and get some of the herbal stuff though, Im a bit slack...

Frustrated and looking forward to what others say that it goes back to normal!

its funny, for years ppl hated me for being a great sleeper, now I envy the old me!

I think this is pretty common. The first week or tow I didn't sleep well at all. Now, just like you I sleep 9+ hours a night and wake up groggy in the morning. I am 2 months sober now, and every day I think is a little better than before. We messed up our sleep so badly when we were drinking that it seems only natural that it would take some time to get it straightened out. I guess for me I am not too worried about it, and hope in time things will just keep getting better.

I can say this though. No matter how groggy I feel in the mornings now it sure beats waking up hungover, dragging myself out of bed to the shower and trying to find a little energy to get my sorry butt to work. One day at a time, right? :)

lol.........that reminded me of the first time i could remember when i slept for 13 hours probably after 2 weeks of little/none...after detox.

it meant so much to me.........the first real sleep.........not alcohol induced or valium induced.....
dont know about you but when drinking id pass out for hours and hours but always woke feeling tired..

i still get bits of insomnia.........but in the main i sleep good...grabbing 8/9 hours at a time...
it became balanced at around 4 months i guess.

shaun.

I'm on day 4 and I'm sleeping a bit more each night. Its clearly improving. And I feel better in the morning, even on less sleep, than I did with a hangover, so I can cope.

I definitely feel much better, too. I'm getting more rest, waking up early, and getting to work with lots of time to spare, rather than barely making it in on time. I used to curse the day every morning in the shower; now I find myself singing in the shower. Day 13 for me.

Maybe the sleep issues are because our brains are healing? I can't wait to get into bed these days, and I sleep like I'm dead. The dreams aren't as vivid, and they don't wake me up anymore. Maybe my brain is getting healthy.

I'm really glad I stumbled onto this thread. I'm starting day 4 of sobriety and already I notice my sleep pattern is changing a lot. Night one I fell asleep okay and didn't wake up but it wasn't restful sleep (which was expected). Day 2 was actually worse and I woke up a lot. But last night, I fell asleep about 9:30 and didn't wake up until about 8:30. I could have easily slept longer if my dog didn't have to go out...

It's weird, I don't feel depressed or anything, I'm just really tired. I guess like everyone else is saying that it's just our bodies adjusting to normal sleep patterns after being disrupted by alcohol for so long. I just hope it doesn't last for too long, I start a new job in two weeks that requires being there by 6:00...:yikes:

I think you'll have settled into a regular thing in 2 weeks comingoutsiber :)

D

I'm on day 51 and still struggling to get good and deep sleep, I guess it's true that the withdrawal symptoms vary from person to person. Most I get is like 5-6 hours max and it takes me like 1 to 2 1/2 hours of lying there with eyes closed before my brain finally shuts off.

Im going to second the Chamomile herbal tea :)

You people who say you get 10-11 hours are sooooooooooooooo lucky you have no idea, at this point i would pay for even just ONE of those "regular" nights of sleep where you get the deep sleep and wake up at 100% instead of 60-65% like me

Sleep is healing and your body might need it. I would just go with it for a while.xxx