How do you get to sleep without alcohol?

[MalbecJunkie]

I managed Day 1 with less difficulty than I anticipated thanks to an extended gaming session with my adult son. I was so busy and engaged that tea and chocolate was mostly fine.

I went to bed at 11:30, thinking I was tired enough to go straight to sleep. At 4am I was still awake.

My body expects to have a couple of bottles of wine in it to knock me out. I’m so, so tired.

Physical exercises to tire me out is a non-starter because of disability, and I don’t know what else to do.

I would appreciate any advice. TIA

I had dreadful trouble staying asleep when I was drinking, not so much getting to sleep. Those issues carried on to some extent for the first 10-12 weeks sober I would say. Now I'm heading into the 4 month mark, I can honestly say that sleep comes quick and lasts longer and I feel much more refreshed. However, it took far longer than I had thought it would for sleep to improve once alcohol free.

Someone just said valerian on another thread?

Honestly, time.

Magnesium supplements are a good shout (get chelated magnesium, not magnesium citrate or oxide, or the withdrawal diarrhea will be a b*h).

Have patience with yourself. I know not sleeping is awful, but realistically, you should sleep a bit the next night if you are awake at 4am. I guess, try not to sleep in, no matter how tempting. Keep to a wake routine.

As somebody who regularly has the odd night where I just can't sleep, the biggest win for me was just thinking "if I don't sleep tonight, what actually happens?". I was a teacher previously, and am now a student doctor and, whilst a sleepless night isn't pleasant, it has never stopped me being able to function. The body clock still knows it'd daytime, and does wonders to help me power on. Most of the issue i was having with sleepless nights was lying there thinking, "Only 6 hours until the alarm... 5 hours... 4 hours... AHHHHH", and letting it go and reducing the pressure to sleep helped.

Having said all the above - you're on day one. You can take a week or two of disrupted sleep for better sleep in the long run. You are strong! * *

p.s. Fun fact. They did a study in people during those "I haven't got any sleep" nights, and actually found they spent a lot of it in the first stages of sleep, although the people themselves had no idea. So you likely slept a bit (if you were lying there with eyes closed).* *

Listen to episode 80 in the 90 Days Later podcast. Tackles alcohol and sleep. I had never thought about the topic in this way before and it helped so much.