People in recovery often struggle with sleeping problems. However, it's essential not to give up too soon - usually, with time comes improvement in this area.
Insomnia is a classic withdrawal symptom from numerous substances, such as street drugs, alcohol, and even some prescription medicines.
Drugs can adversely impact your sleep cycle by interfering with slow-wave sleep and REM sleep cycles, as well as interfering with natural sleeping cycles.
Understanding Withdrawal Insomnia & Sleep Disturbances
Substance abuse, such as alcohol, benzodiazepine, opioids, and cannabis, disrupts sleep patterns in an individual. When people stop taking these substances suddenly, their bodies have to adapt quickly or risk withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia.
- Insomnia is an all too familiar complication during withdrawal and recovery processes.
- To effectively address it, it's vitally important to understand why insomnia occurs and treat any contributing issues.
- Long-term sleep disturbances have the potential to lead to serious health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Sleep disturbances may also arise if you suffer from mental illnesses like depression or an underlying physical condition that causes discomfort and prevents you from sleeping well at night. Certain types of medications can also contribute to insomnia.
How Do Substance Use Disorders Affect Sleep?
Short Answer: This relates to how substance use alters brain chemistry and disrupts the body's internal clock, affecting sleep regulation. Withdrawal causes sleep abnormalities, including impaired slow wave and REM sleep, leading to insomnia, poor sleep quality, and difficulty falling or staying asleep during early recovery.
Numerous individuals suffer from sleep disorders that impede:
- Restful and healthy sleeping patterns
- Affecting memory
- Lack of focus
- Mood swings
- Triggering health concerns such as high blood pressure, diabetes, excessive gas, heart disease or obesity over time
1. Stress
Quitting any kind of substance causes stress, which becomes a primary reason for trouble sleeping. This makes it harder for someone to fall asleep quickly or remain asleep throughout the night. Lack of restful rest leads to fatigue, anxiety, and poor concentration, increasing the risk of relapse.
Drug withdrawal causes sleep disruptions due to changes in serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters. These chemical shifts disturb regular sleep-wake cycles and may trigger nightmares.
Substances like alcohol and stimulants often influence these neurotransmitters, while opioids affect REM sleep cycles, which is where most dreaming occurs.
2. Addiction
Addiction is a brain disease that alters both its structure and function. It may be brought on by many substances or activities, including drugs and alcohol. Substances used for addiction alter how much pleasure you derive from enjoying normal activities. This leads to a compulsive desire to repeat them again and again.
Substances such as cocaine, nicotine, and caffeine may interfere with sleep in two different ways:
- By disrupting the normal progression of non-rapid eye movement (NREM)
- By disrupting rapid eye movement (REM) stages of restful slumber
Hence, this leads to insomnia, which often plagues addiction recovery efforts. NREM sleep is essential to our bodies' healing. Chronic insomnia is often an undesirable side effect of drug abuse, but you can overcome it through the right treatment program and coping skills. If you are facing withdrawal symptoms of marijuana, here are some tips for you.
3. Medication
Many medications can interfere with your sleep cycle and cycle of restful slumber, leading to:
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Difficulty staying asleep throughout the night
- Too frequent wakeups during the night
- You may also experience parasomnia episodes like speaking or eating during your REM cycle.
Certain antidepressant medications may impede your sleep. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), like Prozac and Zoloft, may lead to insomnia by decreasing stage 2 sleep duration when one is most easily disturbed during a cycle - leading to feelings of fatigue and reduced energy throughout the day.
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Common Sleep Disorders
If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping due to natural cycles, breathing issues, or difficulty, consult a healthcare provider immediately. Allowing them to assess your sleeping habits and recommend treatments can help alleviate withdrawal symptoms and promote healing while increasing wellness overall.
- Common sleeping disorders include:
- Chronic insomnia
- Snoring
- Sleep movement disorder
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Restless leg syndrome
- Lack of quality rest
- Narcolepsy/nervous system disorders
- Sclerosis
- Anxiety, depression, tiredness after quitting alcohol, and other mental health disorders
Seeking medical advice may help in helping reduce withdrawal symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
During Recovery from Substance Abuse
At this stage, you begin to recognize that substance abuse is having a negative impact on your life and feel the urge to change, but you aren't ready to commit to treatment plans yet. Here are some healthy habits:
- Create a cool, dark, and distraction-free bedroom environment
- Avoid large meals, alcohol, and caffeine near bedtime
- Stick to a regular sleep schedule with consistent bed and wake times
- Develop and maintain a relaxing bedtime routine
- Limit daytime napping to 30 minutes or less
- Use natural sleep aids cautiously after consulting a healthcare provider
- Practice relaxation techniques like deep breathing exercises or guided imagery
- Exercise regularly but avoid late-evening workouts
- Get exposure to natural light during the day to support the circadian rhythm
- Avoid stimulating activities before bed, such as watching TV or using phones
At this point, holistic therapists may provide nonjudgmental support and education that helps you move forward. They may also educate people on early warning signs and relapse prevention strategies, which are all critical components of recovery. This stage should be treated seriously.
Natural Sleep Aids & Relaxation Techniques for Better Sleep
Due to some drugs affecting our circadian rhythms, withdrawal can cause difficulty sleeping. However, these issues can be overcome through practicing good sleep hygiene and adhering to a consistent schedule.
- Make your bed a place conducive to sleeping by creating an atmosphere that promotes restful sleep:
- Make it cool, dark, and free from distractions.
- Avoid large meals, alcohol consumption, and caffeine ingestion near bedtime.
- Develop and stick to a regular bedtime routine, with short naps lasting no more than 30 minutes to prevent creating "sleep debts" that interfere with nighttime rest.
Even those who generally have good sleep habits may need extra help occasionally falling asleep. Many find relief through over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medications like melatonin or valerian supplements.
When to Get Help for Mental Health or Addiction
If sleep disturbances persist beyond a few weeks of quitting drugs, it is crucial to seek help from mental health services or addiction medicine specialists. Prolonged insomnia and disrupted sleep patterns can be signs of underlying neurochemical imbalances caused by withdrawal, such as altered dopamine and serotonin levels, which regulate sleep and mood.
Chronic sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function, mood regulation, and immune response, increasing relapse risk. Professionals can provide evidence-based interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), medication management, and support for co-occurring mental health disorders, promoting restorative sleep and aiding sustained recovery.
Conclusion
Struggling to sleep after quitting drugs isn't a sign of failure—it's part of the healing process. Withdrawal insomnia and disrupted sleep cycles are incredibly common, especially as your body readjusts to functioning without substances. Restful sleep is not only possible—it's essential for full recovery. And with the right strategies and guidance, it's absolutely within reach.
Start Your Recovery Journey with Dragonfly Medical
Dragonfly Medical understands that recovery doesn't end when the drug use stops—that's where the real work begins. Our substance abuse treatment programs are designed to help you restore balance, including better sleep. Call us today or contact us online to start your path toward lasting recovery—and finally get the rest you deserve.
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