Quality sleep is essential for a successful recovery. If you’re experiencing insomnia during your treatment, though, you can’t always turn to prescription medications to help you get the rest you need. So how can you improve your sleep without interfering with your efforts to stay sober? You can start with these simple changes to your habits and routine:
Seriously Consider Replacing Your Mattress
If you’re tossing and turning at night during recovery, you may think withdrawal-related insomnia is to blame. While withdrawal from alcohol and other addictive substances can cause these same sorts of sleep disturbances, a bad mattress may also be contributing to your restlessness at night. A new mattress can be a major investment, though, so you don’t want to rush into this sort of big purchase. Be sure to use mattress guides to find a new bed that will fit your preferences. If you’d prefer a firmer mattress at an affordable cost, the Allswell bed provides medium firmness and is suitable for most sleeping positions. For those who want a softer bed, look to the Leesa mattress that offers a plush feel while still giving your body support while you sleep.
Eliminate Distractions From Your Sleep Routine
Having the right mattress is crucial for quality sleep, but your evening choices can be equally essential. So if you have already purchased a new bed or already have a quality mattress, you should consider taking a good look at your nightly routine, to see if there is room for improvement. Start with your meal and snack habits before bedtime. If you typically enjoy late-night meals or heavy snacks before you begin winding down for bed, you could be unknowingly interfering with your sleep quality. Fatty, greasy foods can cause digestive upset, which can make it harder to get comfortable enough to fall asleep, and many foods even contain hidden amounts of caffeine that can keep you up as well. Next, think about the sort of activities you enjoy during those important evening hours. If, for instance, you scroll through social media as a way to calm your mind at night, you may want to find a more relaxing bedtime ritual. Screen use too close to bedtime can trick your brain into staying awake. So if you’re having issues falling and staying asleep, it may be best to remove electronics from your bedroom and nightly routine.
Spend More of Your Time on Stress-Reducing Self-Care
Successful stress management should be an essential part of any addiction recovery process or program. That’s because recovering from an addiction is already stressful enough, and people in recovery often relapse due to unchecked stress in their lives. Getting a good night’s sleep can help you mitigate the stress levels in your life while in recovery while having too much stress can also keep you from getting that quality sleep. So how can you break this cycle? The answer is simple: practice more self-care. However, fitting that self-care into your routine, especially when you’re already juggling recovery, work, and other responsibilities, can be anything but simple. The key to getting the self-care you need to improve your sleep habits and reduce stress is to focus on the most basic self-care practices. Simple self-care, such as going for a walk or freeing up your schedule for some downtime, can make it easier to fall asleep at night while helping to lower stress levels during the day. By reducing stress to improve sleep, you can boost your recovery.
When you’re losing out on sleep, it can feel like you’re losing the battle against addiction. After all, sleep is essential for your cognitive and emotional health, and substance abuse recovery can already be an emotionally stressful time. So use the tips above to improve your ability to sleep while in addiction recovery, and speak to your recovery team if these tips don’t work.
Resources:
https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/opioid/heroin/
https://happydiyhome.com/mattress-alternatives/
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