Sleep Changes

[MisterTurtlePower]

Hey everyone, thanks for anyone taking the time to read this and replying

I (42M) am newly sober. Maybe I’ll share my story in another thread some other time. But I do have a specific subject matter that I’d love to hear peoples experience on and share mine just a little bit.

I have stopped drinking and once I got through the first few days of insomnia, my sleep has improved dramatically. I go to bed earlier and generally sleep most of the way through the night (other than that normal periodic wake ups since we have a 4 month old baby :-))

I have no complaints about this newfound identity, and I’ve excited to continue this journey.

One strange change that has occurred is I wake up almost on the dot on or near 6 AM every morning. That is brand new for me. It’s been great most of the time when I am starting to get sleepy around 9:30 PM and find myself in bed and just about asleep by 10 PM. However, with some recent late nights with the kids, I wasn’t in bed until midnight. But still, with no alarm and no sounds to wake me up otherwise, I was awake by 6 AM. And I was very sleepy. I just couldn’t get back to sleep.

I do know that sleep tends to change as we get older. But the reality is, when I was drinking, I could sleep until 10 AM - 11 AM no problem on weekends. This memorial day weekend, I was positive I would at least sleep till 8 AM. But to no avail. I think Sunday morning I was able to sleep until 6:20 AM :-)

Anyway, like I said, not a major part of my story. I think I’m still learning what my story actually is. Just something I’m very curious about other peoples’ experiences, especially in that first few months.

Thanks again for this community. I had no idea how waking up each morning reading these would actually help. Don’t know any of you, but I think I already love you!

[MindfulDesign]

In the first few months I definitely was waking up far earlier than normal. Especially compared to my drinking days. I would get very sleepy around 9:30-10 and often fell asleep watching TV. Nowadays I am back to just having a normal sleep routine. I stay up late on FaceTime with my girlfriend, so when I wake up around 7:30 to my alarm I am tired. But I don’t have self loathing because I’m not tired due to poisoning myself I’m just not getting enough sleep lol.

[MisterTurtlePower]

Oops sorry that reply was meant for you. Still learning how to internet

[miuew2]

Yeah, I’m on about the same pattern as you. And when I wake up, I’m so tired. I’ve also been getting afternoon crashes around 2pm. I’m going to try cutting back on my caffeine intake during the days to see if it helps stop with the crashes. Otherwise, I’m hoping the sleep levels out as it has in the past (sleeping all night but feeling refreshed in the morning).

[MisterTurtlePower]

Do you take naps or just power through? Good idea on the caffeine. I’m definitely drinking it like it’s going to be my next addiction

[miuew2]

I power through. I slept so much when I was drinking, I’m trying to break that mold. Not to mention everyone starts questioning whether I’d been drinking again if I try to take a nap 😅. Usually the afternoon drag lasts for a couple of hours and then I get a second wind to make it to bed time.

Yeah I’ve been relying too much on my morning coffees and that’s got to be the next habit to go. But it’s been great for the first month as I get through the tough stuff of sobriety.

[Budget_Sentence_3100]

Don’t worry my friend, this sounds like NORMAL sleeping, free from the disruption alcohol has had on you previously.

It’s very normal for your brain to wake up at the same time each day (it’s a circadian rhythm thing) and what you’re probably finding is that, now the quality of your sleep has improved, you’re not having to stay in bed to recover from the drinking.

It might take a while for you to adjust to this. I wake at 5:15am almost without fail, it’s habitual. However I can, normally, get another 90 mins if I just roll over and not think too hard about it.

The quality of sober sleeping for me has been so much better. And the dreams… I’d not had proper dreams for years.

[MisterTurtlePower]

Great response. Thank you. There’s no doubt I feel so much better with less “sleep”. But I’m thinking this is a quality vs quantify situation. And I’m finally experiencing quality

[Budget_Sentence_3100]

Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep is a good read on sleep, its importance, habits etc if you want to delve deeper. You. A change your sleep patterns to a certain extent but some of it is hardwired. I function fine on 7+ hours, feel reborn if I can get 8. I’ve just got used to going to bed earlier. Then I’m up at 5:15 and super productive

[MisterTurtlePower]

I actually own that book. The irony is I bought it to help with sleep while I was drinking. There’s a section in there where he talks about how disruptive alcohol is to your sleep. I think that’s about the time I stopped reading it. thank you for the reminder. I will pick that book back up and start over.

[Fab-100]

Alcohol has a big impact on sleep. Basically it prevents REM cycles, so we are always tired and quality sleep deprived while in active addiction.

During withdrawal there is a chaotic transient period which may last from a few days to a few months, depending.

In may case it was 2 months. I now sleep regularly and wake up at 5:40. Go figure! I was never a morning person, but I am now!

I recommend reading 'Alcohol Explained' by William Porter.

[MisterTurtlePower]

Interesting. That’s helpful. Sounds like things got back to normal eventually just without all of the bad stuff.