AF but so tired

[JobMatch3000]

I've been AF for around a month now and although one of the benefits is supposedly better sleep, I actually feel more tired. I'm pressing "snooze" on my alarm rather than just getting up when it goes off.

Also, after a couple of 0% lagers, I wake up with a headache/feeling groggy. It's obviously not a hangover but I'm certainly not waking up refreshed.

Anyone else?

Firstly, congratulations on being a month AF!

On the tiredness, there could be a few things going on. Exhaustion in the early days is quite common- it may be your body’s way of healing, or you may be catching up on all the rest you’d been missing out on through artificially increased levels of adrenaline and cortisol.

The other possibility is that alcohol was masking what was already going on in your body. I was in my early 50s when I stopped, and when I still felt tired I decided to give HRT a go, which improved things massively. That may not be relevant for you, but it’s worth thinking about if there might be something else happening.

Good luck and keep going - the benefits will keep getting better over time, if you let them

Thank you for your response. I'm definitely sleeping more "naturally". The GP is doing blood work for high cholesterol so I do have my general health under investigation. It is nice to wake up, especially on a weekend, without the fallout from the bottle of wine the night before.

Just wanted to say well-done. I'm also free of alcohol recently and heading for Christmas without it. Bloods will show up any health issues. Hormonal changes make me feel tired and the dark winters.

Sometimes the sugars and additives in soft & alcohol free drinks can make feel rubbish the next morning.

How is your nutrition? Are you eating a balanced diet and drinking enough water?

Congratulations! I'm 4 months af so I remember what you're referring to very well. I too was waiting to wake up bouncing with energy and motivation and it never happened. My counsellor said its a myth and I needed to push myself. So I started to eat better and doing a tiny bit of exercise. I started to just push myself to do tiny things every day (clear out a drawer or something) and that pushing created the energy iyswim? 4 months later and I still need around 9 hours sleep and could still nap if I wanted but I don't need it. Best of luck to you.

I will admit the Quality Street in the office took a bit of a battering this past week but my diet is generally pretty good. I do need to get back to the gym in the new year though. As suggested PP, it's possibly the additives/chemicals/sugar in the alco(free)pops I'm trying. I just feel knackered by 9pm.
I'm drinking mulled apple juice tonight.

It took months for my sleep to regulate. You’ll get there.

It’s absolutely normal. Your body has a lot of healing and detox to do. I found I was feeling a lot better after 3 months. But this time of year is rough on energy levels. My guess is that feeling run down is more to do with Christmas, dark nights, junk food, running around than you realise. I feel exactly the same at the moment and I’ve been sober for coming up to a year now. It’s an exhausting time.