How long after quitting drinking can you sleep soundly?

[Taverner]

1 week? 2 weeks? 2 months? never?

[roody]

1. I don't know, but would like to recommend some

tasty chamomile or Sleepytime tea.

[Taverner]

2. Oh I'm using Valerian, Melatonin, Kava, and Tryptophan

It gets me to sleep, but I keep waking up every hour or so

[Rhiannon12866]

3. It took me an awfully long time.

I always drank until I fell asleep. When I talked to my doctor about it, he said it wasn't healthy to go without sleep, so he prescribed something to help me get through the initial insomnia. I know that a lot of folks have this problem when they first get sober, but it does eventually get easier...

[wildeyed]

4. I had very strange sleep patterns for about a year after I quit.

Either I would sleep a ridiculous amount, 12 or 14 hours sometimes, or not at all. And I had really weird dreams. I remember one that consisted of crying for what seemed like hours. That was the entire dream, just crying and for no discernible reason.

Cleaning up my eating helped more than anything. Regular, healthy meals that included some protein and maybe something green. I had been living on cheap beer and McDonalds for so long, I didn't even know how to eat right at first. Try eating a hard boiled egg or maybe apple slices with peanut butter before bed. 2% milk will work too. Helps keep the blood sugar stable and that can help with sleep. Daily yoga breathing and stretching helps too.

[JayhawkSD]

5. Sounds familiar

Everyone of us who is recovering knows the feeling. It takes however long it takes, but you will sleep normally. And once you are it won't seem to have been a long time.

What we also know is that taking a drink now will make you sleep, and make other pains go away, but they will be back. What you are doing will make them go away and not come back.

Drinking makes problems go away, learing to live without drinking cures problems. Trust me, curing is better.

[Taverner]

6. For me, I don't want a drink

Yesterday I was at a restaurant and while the martini shaker constantly going did catch my attention - I don't want it.

Sleep, on the other hand, I miss.

[NMDemDist2]

7. expect a few months at least of sleep pattern disruption

but as they told me in my early days... "No body ever dies from lack of sleep, but our addictions can KILL us!"

[Taverner]

8. But the question remains, am I going to end up starting an underground fight club?

And should I ask you to start calling me Tyler?

Sorry...couldn't resist

The insomnia is making me goofy

[NMDemDist2]

9. well, not sure which will kill you quicker...

fight club or addictions



edit to add... exercise will help, so maybe fight club is the answer???

[wildeyed]

11. I play roller derby now.

Closest I could come to legal fight club

[Electric Monk]

10. About 5 minutes

[Taverner]

12. LOL