Getting enough sleep is vital for your physical and mental health. However, a good night’s rest can be elusive when your brain and body are adjusting to life without drugs or alcohol. Stress, anxiety, cravings, and withdrawal symptoms all make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep, affecting your mood, concentration, and ability to handle stress.
Improving your sleep may take trial and error, but healthy habits can keep you on track. Here are five simple, drug-free ways to get started.
1. Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule
Recovery often requires creating and sticking to new routines, and your sleep schedule should be one of them. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day, including weekends. Over time, you can teach your body’s internal clock when it’s time to sleep and be awake. Ignore the temptation to sleep in after a restless night – inconsistency makes it harder to establish beneficial patterns.
2. Create a Calming Bedtime Routine
Your mind may need some help downshifting into a more restful state after all the hustle and bustle of the day. Try dedicating the last hour or two of your evening to something relaxing – reading a book, taking a warm bath, stretching, journaling, meditating, or practicing breathing exercises. The specific activity matters less than establishing a routine that helps you feel calm.
If you typically dread bedtime, repeating the same soothing sequence every night will give you something to look forward to.
3. Move Your Body During the Day
Regular physical activity can improve your mood, reduce stress, and help you sleep better. You don’t need an intense workout routine to see these benefits. Walking, swimming, gardening, dancing, biking, or playing a sport are all ways to get moving.
Find something you enjoy and can realistically stick with. As with many healthy habits in recovery, small changes are easier to maintain than trying to overhaul your lifestyle all at once.
4. Put Your Phone Away
It’s easy to crawl into bed and get sucked into mindlessly scrolling through your phone. Unfortunately, this habit can keep your mind spinning when you’re trying to relax. Social media, videos, messages, games, and upsetting news all make it harder to settle down. Screens also emit blue light, which may interfere with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.
Consider making your bedroom a technology-free zone. Instead of browsing, dedicate that time to one of the calming activities in your nighttime routine.
5. Make Your Bedroom Comfortable
Your surroundings can affect how well you sleep. Whenever possible, keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Eliminate distractions that could startle you awake or prevent you from falling asleep, such as lights, noises, and an uncomfortable mattress. Your bedroom should also be the place your brain associates with rest. Avoid working, eating meals, or spending hours watching television in bed.
Don’t Try to Self-Medicate Insomnia
You may become desperate for relief after several nights of sleep deprivation – which is dangerous in recovery. Alcohol, marijuana, and prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids could seem like a simple solution, but self-medicating can interfere with your recovery and potentially lead you back into unhealthy patterns.
If insomnia continues, talk to your doctor instead of trying to manage it on your own. Sleep problems are common symptoms of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Maryville Integrated Care understands the relationship between mental and physical health. Addressing problems like stress and poor sleep is part of our whole-person approach to treatment.
Give Yourself Time
Establishing better sleep habits won’t happen automatically, but you shouldn’t let an occasional restless night discourage you. Your body needs time to adjust, so continue practicing healthy habits and ask for help when you need it. Just like recovery, improving your sleep means making consistent choices that improve your long-term well-being.
If substance use, co-occurring mental health challenges, and sleep problems make it difficult for you to move forward, Maryville Integrated Care is here to help. Contact us today to learn how our approach can support your health and recovery.