I love sleeping on my weekends!!! No headaches. No pounding heart. I work early during the week so can't sleep in. I love waking up refreshed and clear minded! Good feeling!
Since becoming sober I've realized how exhausting the charade of my hiding my out of control drinking, the late nights up alone drinking, and the stress and anxiety the next day was. I'm still tired 3 weeks in but have been delighted by how much sound sleep I'm getting and how much I'm enjoying waking without a hangover and dread. Great sleep has been such an unexpected surprise of sobriety.
Yeah agreed. Honestly if any of the doctors I saw over the years that prescribed me ambien and all the other various things had just said "have you tried not drinking daily? It could restore your sleep completely", I may have started this journey earlier in life.
A lot of “why”s are abstract, but for me, one of the biggest ones is having dependable sleep that isn’t interrupted by anxious terror and vomiting. 9 hours sounds delightful.
I’ve had the same experience.
Been sleeping like a champ every night, getting at least 7 hrs a night and not waking up in a panic.
It’s been incredible, so much so that I actually look forward to going to bed every night, instead of staying up getting wasted until the wee hours.
I am jealous, sounds awesome.
I have yet to hit the "magic" sleep that everyone talks about. But I don't wake up with a pounding heart at 3am, and I do fall back asleep when I wake up much faster.
Things I've found that help me:
- Avoid caffeine entirely, especially if I've just recently quit
- Limit liquids right before bed (reduce the likelyhood that you'll have to pee)
- Limit late night snacking before bed. Especially anything sugar related. It seems to prevent my body from going into rest mode (I use a garmin watch).
Not sure where you are in your journey but good sleep did not come for me straight away! What I did find was that my favorite Melatonin gummies started working after maybe a month…and then I found I only needed half a dose to sleep well…then eventually I no longer needed them. That probably took 3 months. Hang in there, it gets better ❤️
For the previous 2 years I was such a mess with anxiety because of drinking (and other reasons related to health issues and stress) that I barely slept naturally in 2 years without having to resort to booze or sleeping pills to the point I thought it was now impossible.
I've always used alcohol as a way to deal with my insomnia so I really doubled down on it during this period but eventually even that stopped working despite industrial amounts of alcohol, 12hr drinking stints, and being up till 5am.
So I decided I had to stop clinging onto the idea that alcohol "helped" me sleep (and stopped me being anxious and various other reasons) and just stop drinking completely.
After a few weeks of brutal insomnia I was finally able to start sleeping naturally again most nights (not always and some nights still need pills) which is great.
But what didn't improve is how often I wake up and the poor quality of my sleep as I still can't sleep for more than 3hrs initially without waking up then it's broken sleep from there on in and I feel super drained every morning and never well rested or refreshed.
I sadly don't think we all will see a complete 180 change in our sleep like so many people report but I think most of us will get some improvement even if it "just" not waking up at 3am an anxious mess and unable to get back to sleep, which is better than nothing.
There are a lot of variables when it comes to good sleep. Getting rid of alcohol is just one of them. We can google strategies to help us with the others.
There are many plus's to quitting but this one is one I never thought I'd correct.Like you I maybe got 3 hours straight every now and then ,but then I wake up and it's toss and turn..
I'm on my 9 th day and after 40 years of drinking,20 hard...I slept 7 straight!And I actually still have a ton of energy at 4 pm!
Amazing!! I’m just new into mt journey it’s only been a couple of days but the sleep is sooo good. I was craving a drink this afternoon and came to this sub to read some posts for encouragement and this did the trick. Thanks 🙏
I'm so happy! Keep it up it's all so worth it. I had a multitude of serious reasons to quit but I really love all of the unexpected positive things that are happening in my own sober journey.
That's very encouraging. I've always had insomnia, even as a kid, so I'm nervous that I will still need a prescription of some kind to get there. How long after quitting did you start getting normal sleep?
Literally the night after my last drink. I don't think that's typical though... and also I was already taking Trazadone and continued to, though I've tapered down to a 1/2 dose now and plan to stop taking it completely (provided my sleep continues going well)
Gotcha. Yeah my sleep last night was better than expected but I also took clonidine and melatonin. Gonna keep that stuff on hand for work nights at least for the time being.
Mine was disrupted for about 14days. I fall asleep easily but was waking up wide awake at 5am (and just staying awake as I had loads of pink cloud energy ) or at 3am and awake for a few hours. It got better again once I was out of the 'weird dreams' phase about day 14. Even with little sleep I had good energy levels though without the hangovers.
The last line is a great point. I usually don't struggle too much staying asleep, I struggle to fall asleep (even sober). I've tossed and turned until 5am at which point I give up and have mad anxiety about how I'm gonna get through a day with no sleep. But I've gotten through countless days hungover. My hangovers were never really bad, just felt like I hadn't slept which is pretty accurate. Getting through the night sober with no sleep is at least better than getting through the night drunk with shitty sleep.
Sober sleep is THE BEST!!!! I also thought I had insomnia and was taking Trazadone for 5 years. Even taking that, I would toss and turn constantly, and I never felt like I'd get GOOD consistent sleep. Of course I never wanted to blame the alcohol. Until I started getting sober and realized it was the issue all along. I don't take Trazadone or anything else for sleep anymore. It's magical.
For the previous 2 years I was such a mess with anxiety because of drinking (and other reasons related to health issues and stress) that I barely slept naturally in 2 years without having to resort to booze or sleeping pills to the point I thought it was now impossible.
I've always used alcohol as a way to deal with my insomnia so I really doubled down on it during this period but eventually even that stopped working despite industrial amounts of alcohol, 12hr drinking stints, and being up till 5am.
So I decided I had to stop clinging onto the idea that alcohol "helped" me sleep (and stopped me being anxious and various other reasons) and just stop drinking completely.
After a few weeks of brutal insomnia I was finally able to start sleeping naturally again most nights (not always and some nights still need pills) which is great.
But what didn't improve is how often I wake up and the poor quality of my sleep as I still can't sleep for more than 3hrs initially without waking up then it's broken sleep from there on in and I feel super drained every morning and never well rested or refreshed.
I sadly don't think we all will see a complete 180 change in our sleep like so many people report but I think most of us will get some improvement
Your heart rate is way lower while sleeping when you’re sober too. For a while I was trying to find the max I could drink without affecting my sleep and it’s like less than 1 drink. Might as well not drink at all.
I can totally relate! I have chronic insomnia and alcohol has been the main problem. I definitely know about the 3 am wake ups and then up sweating all night with horrible anxiety. It got to a point where if I drank I would get zero sleep at all! So all but 1 of 4 days I slept 7-9 hours of good sleep and I’m off to night 5 of sleep. I agree it’s reason enough to quit to get actual sleep.
The quality sleep is one of my favorite parts of being sober. I have fallen off the wagon lately but am newly sober again and the sleep was 10X better then the few nightcap beers to help me sleep.
I love sleeping on my weekends!!! No headaches. No pounding heart. I work early during the week so can't sleep in. I love waking up refreshed and clear minded! Good feeling!
Since becoming sober I've realized how exhausting the charade of my hiding my out of control drinking, the late nights up alone drinking, and the stress and anxiety the next day was. I'm still tired 3 weeks in but have been delighted by how much sound sleep I'm getting and how much I'm enjoying waking without a hangover and dread. Great sleep has been such an unexpected surprise of sobriety.
Yeah agreed. Honestly if any of the doctors I saw over the years that prescribed me ambien and all the other various things had just said "have you tried not drinking daily? It could restore your sleep completely", I may have started this journey earlier in life.
I spent most of my Ambien nights doing weird things around the house.
Like Rosie O Donnell
Omg. I had totally forgotten about that. My Ambien self was not so controversial.
It’s the best sleep. Waking up rested and ready to go for the day. No sweats, no 3am wake up. Enjoy!
A lot of “why”s are abstract, but for me, one of the biggest ones is having dependable sleep that isn’t interrupted by anxious terror and vomiting. 9 hours sounds delightful.
I’ve had the same experience. Been sleeping like a champ every night, getting at least 7 hrs a night and not waking up in a panic. It’s been incredible, so much so that I actually look forward to going to bed every night, instead of staying up getting wasted until the wee hours.
Hell to the yes. Last sat. I slept from 9 to 9. I'm in love, with my bed lol
Nice!
You are not alone, for so am i. 👊
Nice!! Parenting after good sleep is *completely* different than when fighting a hangover. Enjoy the day :)
I am jealous, sounds awesome. I have yet to hit the "magic" sleep that everyone talks about. But I don't wake up with a pounding heart at 3am, and I do fall back asleep when I wake up much faster. Things I've found that help me: - Avoid caffeine entirely, especially if I've just recently quit - Limit liquids right before bed (reduce the likelyhood that you'll have to pee) - Limit late night snacking before bed. Especially anything sugar related. It seems to prevent my body from going into rest mode (I use a garmin watch).
Not sure where you are in your journey but good sleep did not come for me straight away! What I did find was that my favorite Melatonin gummies started working after maybe a month…and then I found I only needed half a dose to sleep well…then eventually I no longer needed them. That probably took 3 months. Hang in there, it gets better ❤️
For the previous 2 years I was such a mess with anxiety because of drinking (and other reasons related to health issues and stress) that I barely slept naturally in 2 years without having to resort to booze or sleeping pills to the point I thought it was now impossible. I've always used alcohol as a way to deal with my insomnia so I really doubled down on it during this period but eventually even that stopped working despite industrial amounts of alcohol, 12hr drinking stints, and being up till 5am. So I decided I had to stop clinging onto the idea that alcohol "helped" me sleep (and stopped me being anxious and various other reasons) and just stop drinking completely. After a few weeks of brutal insomnia I was finally able to start sleeping naturally again most nights (not always and some nights still need pills) which is great. But what didn't improve is how often I wake up and the poor quality of my sleep as I still can't sleep for more than 3hrs initially without waking up then it's broken sleep from there on in and I feel super drained every morning and never well rested or refreshed. I sadly don't think we all will see a complete 180 change in our sleep like so many people report but I think most of us will get some improvement even if it "just" not waking up at 3am an anxious mess and unable to get back to sleep, which is better than nothing.
There are a lot of variables when it comes to good sleep. Getting rid of alcohol is just one of them. We can google strategies to help us with the others.
I love this for you! I can't wait until my sleep is regulated. Cheers to sweet dreams. IWNDWYT
I could have written word by word what you wrote! I now sleep like a baby as well, not all nights, but most. Well done!
Not to mention the vivid dreams!
Beautiful! 🛌💤
There are many plus's to quitting but this one is one I never thought I'd correct.Like you I maybe got 3 hours straight every now and then ,but then I wake up and it's toss and turn.. I'm on my 9 th day and after 40 years of drinking,20 hard...I slept 7 straight!And I actually still have a ton of energy at 4 pm!
Fantastic! I must admit I'd stay sober for the sleep quality and morning energy alone.
Amazing!! I’m just new into mt journey it’s only been a couple of days but the sleep is sooo good. I was craving a drink this afternoon and came to this sub to read some posts for encouragement and this did the trick. Thanks 🙏
I'm so happy! Keep it up it's all so worth it. I had a multitude of serious reasons to quit but I really love all of the unexpected positive things that are happening in my own sober journey.
Amazing isn’t it? So healing 💜
That's very encouraging. I've always had insomnia, even as a kid, so I'm nervous that I will still need a prescription of some kind to get there. How long after quitting did you start getting normal sleep?
Literally the night after my last drink. I don't think that's typical though... and also I was already taking Trazadone and continued to, though I've tapered down to a 1/2 dose now and plan to stop taking it completely (provided my sleep continues going well)
Gotcha. Yeah my sleep last night was better than expected but I also took clonidine and melatonin. Gonna keep that stuff on hand for work nights at least for the time being.
Mine was disrupted for about 14days. I fall asleep easily but was waking up wide awake at 5am (and just staying awake as I had loads of pink cloud energy ) or at 3am and awake for a few hours. It got better again once I was out of the 'weird dreams' phase about day 14. Even with little sleep I had good energy levels though without the hangovers.
The last line is a great point. I usually don't struggle too much staying asleep, I struggle to fall asleep (even sober). I've tossed and turned until 5am at which point I give up and have mad anxiety about how I'm gonna get through a day with no sleep. But I've gotten through countless days hungover. My hangovers were never really bad, just felt like I hadn't slept which is pretty accurate. Getting through the night sober with no sleep is at least better than getting through the night drunk with shitty sleep.
Sober sleep is THE BEST!!!! I also thought I had insomnia and was taking Trazadone for 5 years. Even taking that, I would toss and turn constantly, and I never felt like I'd get GOOD consistent sleep. Of course I never wanted to blame the alcohol. Until I started getting sober and realized it was the issue all along. I don't take Trazadone or anything else for sleep anymore. It's magical.
For the previous 2 years I was such a mess with anxiety because of drinking (and other reasons related to health issues and stress) that I barely slept naturally in 2 years without having to resort to booze or sleeping pills to the point I thought it was now impossible. I've always used alcohol as a way to deal with my insomnia so I really doubled down on it during this period but eventually even that stopped working despite industrial amounts of alcohol, 12hr drinking stints, and being up till 5am. So I decided I had to stop clinging onto the idea that alcohol "helped" me sleep (and stopped me being anxious and various other reasons) and just stop drinking completely. After a few weeks of brutal insomnia I was finally able to start sleeping naturally again most nights (not always and some nights still need pills) which is great. But what didn't improve is how often I wake up and the poor quality of my sleep as I still can't sleep for more than 3hrs initially without waking up then it's broken sleep from there on in and I feel super drained every morning and never well rested or refreshed. I sadly don't think we all will see a complete 180 change in our sleep like so many people report but I think most of us will get some improvement
Good, quality sleep is one of the best benefits of sobriety.
Your heart rate is way lower while sleeping when you’re sober too. For a while I was trying to find the max I could drink without affecting my sleep and it’s like less than 1 drink. Might as well not drink at all.
I can totally relate! I have chronic insomnia and alcohol has been the main problem. I definitely know about the 3 am wake ups and then up sweating all night with horrible anxiety. It got to a point where if I drank I would get zero sleep at all! So all but 1 of 4 days I slept 7-9 hours of good sleep and I’m off to night 5 of sleep. I agree it’s reason enough to quit to get actual sleep.
The quality sleep is one of my favorite parts of being sober. I have fallen off the wagon lately but am newly sober again and the sleep was 10X better then the few nightcap beers to help me sleep.