The Role of Sleep in Addiction Recovery

The benefits of quality sleep are omnipresent in your daily life. Your mind and body do much more than just “rest” when you sleep. Out of the myriad things, it boosts your immune system, improves calorie regulation, and overall mood, lowers stress levels, and prepares you for the next day.

Maintaining a sound sleep schedule when you’re engaging or recovering from addiction can be tricky. Different substances like alcohol or stimulants like cocaine or opioids influence your sleep patterns differently. Hence, it is helpful to seek support from your mental health professional to understand your condition and what you can do about it better. 

Also read: Does Better Sleep Improve Your Quality of Life

If you’re looking to talk about your challenges in coping with addiction or your journey with addiction recovery, join our community, “Addiction Support” to connect with people going through similar experiences.

What is Addiction?

An addiction is a disorder that results in you engaging in compulsive behaviour for a substance despite that behaviour having adverse consequences on your mental and physical health. Before, addiction was only understood in terms of alcohol addiction or drug addiction, such as tobacco or marijuana. 

Addiction is a multi-layered condition influenced by your genes, family history, and your present environment. Remember that you’re not completely to be blamed for the condition. Seeking support for addiction can be challenging as it is often looked down upon publicly but it is not impossible.

The understanding of the condition lies in the underlying neurology of the brain and not so much about the external behaviours caused by it. With the right treatment and support from your therapist or psychiatrist, it is possible to recover and restart a happy, healthy life. 

Also read: Heal From Within: Establishing a Healthy Support System for Addiction Recovery

How Does Sleep Help in Addiction Recovery?

While it would make sense in simple terms for sleep to get back to normal once the chemicals are out of your system, that is not the case every time. The withdrawal symptoms that come with addiction recovery are bound to cause disturbances in sleep patterns.

Getting sound sleep during this time also enhances your mood which is an important element in addiction recovery. If not kept in check, lack of sleep can result in you relapsing and having lower energy levels which can keep you further from actively engaging in recovery. 

As difficult as it may sound, having a consistent sleep schedule during recovery can also ensure that you are getting enough rest and energy to sustain through the recovery process and improve your physical health.

These effects may sound minimal as there is nothing “extraordinary” taking place because of getting good sleep during your recovery process. However, they are certainly vital in helping you maintain equilibrium and have a smooth addiction recovery. 

Also read: Maintaining Good Sleep Hygiene

For this, it is of utmost importance for you to seek support from your family, friends, therapist, and psychiatrist during this journey.

How Can You Sleep Better in Addiction Recovery?

Getting back to a sleeping pattern that is restorative is challenging during and after addiction. It is a mark of high willingness and self-compassion towards yourself to take a step in aiding addiction recovery.

You can do this by considering small steps like: 

• Going to sleep at the same time every day

• Reading or taking a warm bath before sleeping

• Avoiding heavy meals right before sleeping

• Light stretching before sleeping

• Reducing mobile phone usage before sleeping 

Everyone’s addiction recovery journey feels different. You are the best judge to decide what can work best and is doable for you to improve your sleep quality in this journey. 

Also read: How Self-Compassion Can Help Treat Mental Health Disorders and Addiction

Don’t hesitate to know more about what you can do to help yourself in the journey of your addiction recovery. Book a free 30-minute call with our mental health coach to understand your treatment and support options. You are deserving of a smooth and healthy recovery.