So we all know that getting enough sleep is generally important to your overall health but it’s even more important when you are fighting an addiction. It’s common to feel like you’re not getting enough sleep or your sleeping too much. In this episode of Addiction Radio podcast, we’re going to talk about why sleep is important during recovery, how much sleep you’re getting now, and how much sleep you should be getting.

In addition, we’ll help you recognize signs of not getting enough sleep, dig deeper into different types of sleep, and the health benefits and risks of getting too much or too little sleep. We’ll conclude the podcast by talking about ways you can get better sleep, when and if you should take sleep aids and if you should call your doctor.

Let’s get started.

Show Notes

In this podcast, we are going to talk about how important sleep is when tacking an addiction. We’ll have you take an inventory of your current sleep, talk about how much sleep you should be getting, and signs of not getting enough sleep. In addition, we’ll talk about the health benefits and risks, how to get a better night’s sleep, and if or when you should call your doctor. Let’s get started.

Why sleep is important during recovery

Sleep is a key component when breaking any addiction. Just like fitness and nutrition, it’s important to take care of your health by focusing on sleep. In other words, you need to let your body rest.

Your addiction has likely been taking a toll on your body and most people with an addiction have messed up sleep. When you don’t sleep well, your entire body is affected. Your brain needs sleep in order to repair itself and help you turn back to baseline.

Sleeping too little can cause your body to become irritated and when agitated you are at greater risk for triggers which could potentially lead to relapse. When you sleep too much, your body doesn’t get the activity it needs to be in a healthy state and this can lead to lack of motivation, depression, or sadness which can also lead to triggers and relapse. The key is to get just the right amount, every single night.

Most people don’t get enough sleep and those who are fighting an addiction have it that much harder. That’s why I want to talk to you about how exactly to get a good night’s sleep every night. When you couple this with nutrition and fitness, you set yourself up for great success. Let’s start by figuring out how much sleep you are currently getting.

How much sleep are you getting now?

The first thing you'll need to do before changing anything is taken inventory. How much sleep are you getting now, are you getting good quality sleep? Does it take you forever to fall asleep? Do you wake up often?

The answers to these questions should be documented over a couple of days. Now the easiest way to get answers is to use a fitness tracker that logs your sleep.  Most fitness trackers are pretty affordable now and very beneficial because you can use it for your nutrition and fitness as well. If you don't have a fitness tracker then you'll have to start using a pen and paper - just keep a log next to your bed.

If using a pen and paper it’s impossible to know the exact minute you fell asleep but that’s okay; when you wake up just try to remember around what time you fell asleep, what time you woke up and if you remember waking up in the middle of the night.

You’ll need a few days in order to calculate some sort of average. Everybody has off nights here and there; that’s normal but what we really want to know is how much sleep you are getting on average and what your quality of sleep is like.

It’s important to make a note of how you feel each morning and throughout the day while making a log. Are you feeling refreshed when you wake up, groggy, what about during the day? Do you get tired often?