If insomnia is keeping you up at night and even risking relapse, we’re going to show you proven ways to beat it and get restful sleep. And we just want you to know that you are not alone in your sleep struggles.

According to the Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration, sleep disturbances such as sleep latency (how long it takes you to fall asleep) are a common complaint among people with substance use disorders. 

The good news is that you can learn to get deep, restful sleep just by understanding your sleep issues better and learning a few helpful sleeping tips. 

In fact, the majority of our patients at the Cabin beat insomnia and go on to sleep better in recovery than they ever did in active addiction.

Is Chronic Insomnia Common in Sobriety?

Yes, chronic insomnia is a common side effect of recovering from a substance use disorder of any kind, but especially so after quitting drinking. 

For example, insomnia or sleep disturbance occurs in anywhere between 36% – 91% of people suffering from alcohol dependence according to an October 2016 study published in The National Library of Medicine entitled “Alcohol Dependence and its Relationship with Insomnia and Other Sleep Disorders” by Chakravorty, Subhajit, et al.

If you’re in early sobriety, it is totally normal to be experiencing any of the following sober sleep disturbances:

• Tossing and turning
• Anxiety and racing thoughts
• Sleep continuity issues (waking up in the middle of the night)
• Sleep latency 
• Grogginess in the morning
• Nightmares

If you’ve just quit alcohol or drugs and are in a rehab facility or sober living house, your issues are most likely more severe. Insomnia is linked to detox in a direct way. When you quit using substances, your body is almost in a state of shock. It’s adjusting to life without having mood-altering chemicals in the body.

It’s important to understand what your body is going through at this time and how it’s linked to poor sleep quality. So let’s cover some of the science behind the link between sleep issues and recovery before you learn our tips for better sleep.

Sobriety And Insomnia: Why is it Difficult to Sleep When You First Get Sober?

When you’re in early recovery, your mind and body are going through major changes that make it difficult to fall asleep (and stay asleep). 

The main reason people in recovery suffer from insomnia is that their bodies have become dependent on drugs or alcohol for daily functioning, including sleep. Now that these substances are gone, your body is trying desperately to cope with this major change. 

The following list contains just a few of the key contributing factors to your insomnia:

• Brain Chemistry Changes: Alcohol affects neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which play a key role in your ability to fall asleep. When you quit drinking, your brain will need time to adjust before you sleep “normally” again.
• Withdrawal Symptoms: Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) symptoms include physical discomfort, stress, and anxiety that make it difficult to fall asleep. According to a study in the National Library of Medicine entitled “Prevalence and Correlates of Withdrawal-Related Insomnia among Adults with Alcohol Dependence”: rates of insomnia in alcohol-dependent patients are as high as 50%.
• The Rebound Effect: Rebound insomnia occurs when people rely on alcohol or drugs to help themselves fall asleep, and then suddenly stop taking the substances. Now that your body no longer has the sedative effects it’s used to, you may struggle to fall asleep or get deep sleep.
• Physical Health Issues: Substance use disorders wreak havoc on your body. They even contribute to cardiovascular problems, obstructive sleep apnea, and digestive issues. Now that you’re sober, you’re dealing with these problems head-on rather than “numbing them out”. This has a major effect on your sleep quality.

These issues can last even after a stint in a rehabilitation clinic, sometimes as long as 2-6 months. Thankfully, there are ways to manage them to improve your sleep quality and wake feeling rested and ready to take on the day. There’s just one more issue we need to touch on before we get to those tips, and that’s the sad risk of relapse due to sober insomnia.

The Insomnia Relapse Risk: Will Lack of Sleep Cause Me to Relapse?

The short answer is no, lack of sleep will not directly cause you to relapse. However, the negative side effects of lack of sleep may increase the risk of a relapse if you don’t take the necessary steps to improve your sleep.

Recovering alcoholics with baseline insomnia are at double the risk of relapse of those without insomnia, according to a March 2021 study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry entitled “Insomnia, Self-Medication, and Relapse to Alcoholism” by Brower, Kirk J., et al. So you must remain vigilant and understand that using drugs or alcohol will not solve your problem – it will only make it worse.

The key issue here is that insomnia and substance use create a vicious negative cycle that may lead to relapse. In other words, insomnia causes fatigue, depression, and anxiety. These negative symptoms make you want to drink to avoid the pain. Then, if you relapse, the symptoms get worse. And thus the cycle repeats. 

The good news is that just because you’re at a higher risk of relapsing DOES NOT mean that you will. If you follow these tips for beating insomnia in early recovery, you’ll find yourself sleeping deeply without waking up in the middle of the night.

Further Reading: Anxiety and stress are threats to your sobriety. We recommend checking out our guide on how to stop catastrophic thinking to learn how to identify your negative thoughts and eliminate them before they cause a relapse.

How to Fall Asleep Sober?: 7 Tips From The Recovery Experts at The Cabin

“How can I fall asleep sober? Alcohol helps me sleep!”.

Here at The Cabin, the majority of our patients in early recovery struggle to fall asleep. And it doesn’t help that prescription sleep aids are not the best idea for a recovering addict.

Here are 7 tips we teach our patients to help them sleep better while sober, wake up refreshed, and reduce the negative effects of insomnia throughout the day.

1. Prepare For Sober Sleep All Day Long

There are plenty of things you can do throughout your day to better prepare yourself for a night of restful sleep. These include:

• Avoiding caffeine after 2 pm
• Resisting daytime napping
• Getting at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day
• Eating a sleep-friendly diet containing complex carbohydrates, protein, B vitamins and magnesium
• Try to limit your screen time throughout the day. A good rule of thumb is to limit screen time to 2 hours per day or less outside of work

You’d be surprised at how much your sleep issues are attributable to your diet and NOT to your sobriety. For example, a study published in The National Library of Medicine in June 2023 entitled, “The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep”, found that caffeine reduced total sleep time by 45 minutes and sleep efficiency by 7%. Now, we aren’t saying you should quit drinking coffee – we aren’t inhumane here. But even just reducing caffeine and understanding that some of your sleep problems are due to your diet and NOT sobriety can help maintain a recovery mindset.

2. Prepare Your Sleeping Space For Deep, Restful Sleep

When struggling with insomnia, you may dread entering the bedroom, knowing you are in for a battle against sleep. However, a few simple changes can make your bedroom a serene and tranquil space – somewhere you actually want to unwind:

• Remove all entertainment from the bedroom, reinforcing the idea that your room is a place for sleep. This includes televisions, phones and tablets.
• Add some mood lighting. Something as simple as a nice lamp emitting a soft glow can go a long way toward creating a calming environment.
• Incorporate aromatherapy. A couple of drops of lavender, chamomile or sandalwood oil can help lull you into a relaxed state.
• Remove intrusive sounds and lights. Get blackout curtains, a white noise machine, earplugs, an eye shade – whatever you need to block the hectic world from your space of tranquillity.

3. Improve Your Sleep Quality by Relaxing Your Body

There are plenty of relaxation techniques you can use to prepare your body for sleep. Relaxing your body before sleep signals to your mind and body that “it’s time to go to bed”. It also reduces the production of stress hormones and promotes deep, restorative rest.

The 3 best techniques for relaxing your body before sleep are:

• Deep Breathing: Deep breathing exercises can significantly aid in relaxation and sleep. The “4-7-8” technique is our favourite: inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds. This practice helps slow the heart rate and induces a state of calm, mimicking the breathing patterns of sleep onset.
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This technique involves tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups in the body, starting from the toes and working up to the head. Progressive muscle relaxation helps in identifying and releasing physical tension, which can reduce stress and promote better sleep.
• Guided Imagery: Guided imagery is when you visualize peaceful and calming scenarios, which can help distract the mind from stress and anxiety. It helps by engaging all the senses and creating a mental state conducive to sleep. For example, imagining floating in a calm ocean can ease the transition to sleep​​.
• Further Reading: Trouble sleeping could be a sign you have a dysregulated nervous system. This guide on how to heal a dysregulated nervous system contains medically proven tips for relaxing your body and reducing your anxiety.

4. Calm Your Mind With Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia

Calming your mind helps you fall asleep sober by quieting the racing thoughts that many people recovering from substance use disorders struggle with.

Here’s a proven way to do it based on scientific evidence from cognitive behavioural studies…

Many insomniacs complain of racing thoughts keeping them awake. These “sleep anxiety” thoughts are usually something like, “If I do not fall asleep immediately, I will be too tired to function tomorrow”. These racing thoughts usually induce stress, making it even harder to fall asleep.

Cognitive behavioural therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), was specifically designed to overcome sleep difficulties by correcting this type of thinking. 

Here’s what to do:

Instead of thinking “If I don’t fall asleep, I’ll be exhausted tomorrow”, REFRAME your thoughts to something realistic and positive. For example, “I don’t need 8 full hours of sleep, 4 or 5 will be fine” or “I will just enjoy relaxing in bed, which is something I have wanted all day”. This naturally calms your mind, relaxes your body, and allows you to sleep more easily.

CBT-I is a PROVEN method that has worked over and over again both here at our clinic AND in clinical trials. 

An August 2019 study published in the National Library of Medicine entitled “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: An Effective and Underutilized Treatment for Insomnia” clearly states “CBT-I produces results that are equivalent to sleep medication, with no side effects, fewer episodes of relapse, and a tendency for sleep to continue to improve long past the end of treatment.” The study went on to state that, according to a meta-analysis of 20 randomized sleep studies, CBT-I improved sleep latency by 19 minutes and sleep efficiency by 10%.”

Just this one simple tip could drastically improve your sleep in early recovery.

Pro Tip From Our Recovery Team: It’s normal to experience disrupted sleep patterns when quitting alcohol or drugs. We know this can be difficult, but you can reframe it into something positive. For example, “This is a necessary step in my recovery. It will pass soon” or “Everyone in addiction treatment goes through this. They made it. So can I”.

5. Perform a Sleep Ritual

Create a sleep ritual that you perform each night before bed. Have a warm bath, drink some chamomile tea, listen to relaxing music, brush your teeth – do whatever makes you feel good.  You could even do some gentle yoga or meditation. Just make sure to do it starting about 1 hour before bedtime. 

Whatever you decide to include in your sleep routine, make sure to keep it consistent. The key is to develop a nighttime routine that you enjoy. Your body will begin to associate your ritual with sleep, signalling you to feel tired.

6. Consider Your Circadian Rhythm

Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock that controls your sleep-wake cycle by releasing melatonin, a hormone that makes you feel drowsy. Addiction disrupts the sleep-wake cycle, but the following 4 tips in this list are some strategies you can use to correct it:

• Manage Your Exposure to Light: Specifically, aim for exposure to bright light in the morning and avoid light exposure late at night. Try taking a short walk outside or sitting by a window with ample natural light in the mornings. This helps regulate your circadian rhythm, making it easier to wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night. In the evening, consider using dim, warm lights and avoid using electronic devices at least an hour before bed. If you must use screens, enable the night mode feature to reduce blue light emission.
• Don’t Exercise or Eat Late at Night: Avoid large meals and exercise in the late hours of the evening. Eating late at night kicks your digestive system to high gear and keeps you awake, and exercise increases your heart rate. Both of these activities make it difficult to sleep.
• Try Melatonin Supplements: Take melatonin supplements at night (temporarily) to reset your internal clock. Just be sure to check with your doctor first to make sure melatonin is right for you.
• Create a Schedule: Stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time, even on weekends.

7. Seek Therapy or Join a Support Group After Quitting Drinking

Early recovery is a stressful time in which your mind and body are going through difficult changes. Seeking professional therapy or joining a recovery support group could make a major impact on your sleep quality by reducing the stress in your life and giving you hope for the future.

All of the worry you’re experiencing in early sobriety creates a vicious cycle: you can’t sleep because of your worries – but that lack of sleep increases your worries. People who join support groups like the ones at our facility in Sydney report that they feel a sense of relief and solidarity with others struggling through the same issues. And this sense of relief drastically reduces their anxiety, gives them hope, and improves their sleep quality.

Again, this is not speculation – it’s scientific fact. To quote one study from the University of Wollongong in Australia called “The effectiveness of support groups: a literature review”:

“There is strong, scientifically rigorous evidence which shows the effectiveness of professionally facilitated, family-led support groups, psychoeducation carers support groups, and professionally facilitated, program-based support groups for people living with mental illness.”

That same study went on to report the effects of the “GROW” program, an international organisation of mental health support groups.

People who attended these meetings reported the following:

• 85% felt an improved sense of personal value  
• 77% experienced an improved sense of belonging and connection with the community  
• 81% reported an improved network of friends and personal support  
• 67% said that GROW had directly contributed to their recovery from mental illness

Further Reading: It’s impossible to overstate the importance of support groups in addiction recovery. We see it every day: Our patients who join groups have much higher success rates than those that don’t.

Recovery Support at The Cabin Sydney

Recovering from drug or alcohol addiction is an incredible accomplishment, but if you are still struggling to overcome sleep issues that threaten your sobriety, help is available.

The Cabin Sydney is an alcohol, mental health, and drug rehab centre that offers a comprehensive continuing care programme to help you maintain your sobriety no matter what challenges arise. Speak to an addiction professional today to find out how we can help keep you on the path to a rewarding and long-term recovery.

We have inpatient and outpatient healthcare and recovery programmes for people suffering from sleep issues just like yours. You could speak to a professional as quickly as the same day. Don’t worry, your insurance may cover the entire cost as well!