Weaver

Back in my drinking days I really didn't sleep that much. If I did sleep It wasn't sound sleep because I was insanely drunk when I would finally pass out. I still find myself,however, having trouble sleeping. I'm TIRED but I still don't sleep and I think lack of sleep is preventing me from feeling my best.

Anyone else feel this way? Or notice mood/feeling better when getting constant routine sleep? I guess I just still find it hard to "shut down" instead of drinking all night I will watch tv,listen to music, surf the net etc.

I should preface all my posts with this but sorry for any grammatical ,structural errors as I am posting from my Iphone!

eJoshua

I'm a total hypocrite here, but I have heard that regular vigorous exercise is a great way to help you sleep better. Maybe someone who's in better shape than me can chime in to confirm

I do find that if I don't get good sleep it does drastically affect my mood and has contributed to me relapsing in the past.

seeks

I try to get as much as possible these days. The first few weeks I had a lot of trouble sleeping. I'll echo eJoshua and say exercise definitely helps. Also, when I'm well rested I'm better at working through thoughts about drinking and letting them go.

Ruby2

There are four things that alcoholics are routinely told they should avoid in recovery...being hungry, angry, lonely or tired...H.A.L.T. Getting good quality sleep is important. I find that if I am really tired my mood suffers. My sleep patterns normalized after a couple of months but I had noticeable improvement after about a week.

bigsombrero

Yeah, sleep's important to me. I think the best thing for anyone is to get into a routine of some kind - sleep is a part of that. I download audiobooks online, and listen to them in bed on low volume if I'm having trouble sleeping. I'm just finishing Around the World in 80 Days right now, it's a peaceful way to drift into slumber. Good luck to you!

topspin

yea, it's an ongoing struggle with me too. Late work schedule , ..off at 2am , sure doesn't help.

One thing I did recently was disconnect the cable,
......... and trips to the library for novels , or short stories to read in bed. They have tons of DVD's , films, documentaries, ....to help going cold turkey off the Tube. ,...once I actually get my dvd player hooked back up. LO
.....really trying to cut down my "screen time , now.

I nearly have enough saved for my freedom papers, so someone's going to be a happy camper with my old job.

Notmyrealname

I don't think I'd start hitting the bottle if I had to cut back to four hours' sleep a night, if that's what you are asking. But getting enough sleep is part of living a good life and I have no good reason not to go to bed at a decent hour.

EJ43

I slept terribly the first couple of weeks, now I am out, like never before. I do wake up exhausted though. My days are sloooooooowwwwlllly getting more energetic. I was down and out first month, now second month getting a lot more done. I have three sons, so down and out is still a pretty hectic day! Hahaha! I feel that my body is healing and the deep sleep is a sign. Took me a bit to get there though. Good luck!

Looking4Help123

I've never been a good sleeper.

In the end I stopped beating myself up about the fact I had a restless night which is pretty much every night of the week.

Also feel pretty crappy getting up, much less crappy than if I was drinking though.

aasharon90

H.A.L.T. in recovery stands for .....

Hunger, anger, loneliness and tired.

To become healthier in recovery, taking
care of each of those needs I would say
is important.

If one is hungry, then eat. Eat healthy foods
for vitamins that are essential for all parts of
the body to function properly.

If one is angry or harboring resentments,
then working thru them so that they don't
add weight on our shoulders or affect our
health is also important.

If one is lonely, then surround yourself
with positive people that will benefit your
recovery and add a spark to ur life.

If one is tired, sleep is important, but
there are many ways to rest. Relax.
Be at peace. Taking time to meditate
helps. Commune with nature. Not only
is food and friends good for our health
but so is giving our body time to heal
and rest.

That is the spiritual part of our recovery
journey in life. All those parts should work
together in harmony to help achieve a healthy,
happy person one can be in recovery.