Does anyone else need less sleep now that they've quit drinking?

[Steveo]

Hello all

I've been off the booze for about 7 weeks now. I have all the usual benefits such as weight loss, nice skin, more energy, more money :) etc., but what has really surprised me is how little sleep I now need.

I used to need about 8 hours sleep and I'd still feel a bit groggy the next day. Now I'm able to cope fine with 6, sometimes less.

I'm 30 now, and when I think back on my 20's, although I had a lot of fun partying, I wonder what could I have accomplished if I wasn't drinking. All that energy could have been put to good use. :)

Anyone else feel like me?

[Jackalope]

I found the same thing, Steve.

I am actually okay with 6 hours sleep now, although 7 is better. I used to like 9 hours sleep, if possible, and felt like I had to have 8.

I'm 55 (not 30 like you) so this could be attributed also to that "less sleep as you get older" phenomena but I think it's directly related to the lack of alcohol and my body not needing to repair itself nightly.

[Indiglow]

I'm in my mid-thirties and can definitely do with less sleep now. It may be because the quality of sleep is so much better, and the body isn't ceaselessly trying to repair itself? I still like 7-8 when I can get it, but six is fine now.

The other thing I noticed was that I began to enjoy waking up early. Until I quit, I'd assumed I was a night owl and needed to wake as late as 9 or 10 am... now 6 am or 7 am seems more right.

[Steveo]

Yeah! I used to think I was a night owl too. I always felt really groggy and a bit sickly in the morning. Now I'm always up early, feeling refreshed and calm :)

[jm8]

yep. booze would knock me out earlier and keep me asleep longer, especially on weekends when i could not set the alarm and just sleep in as long as needed. and i would still feel crappy and tired. now getting the same quantity of sleep is harder to come by, but the quality of sleep negates that.

[FlutterBy]

I have always been an insomniac and drinking made it worse. I was up and down 5 or 6 times a night when I was drinking, so the sleep I was getting was not restful. Now, I still wake up a couple of times a night, but sleep more soundly. I have gone from needing 8-10 to maybe 6. Also, my husband who is only 2 years older than me and still drinking is always exhausted and gets way more sleep than I do. He even mentioned to me the other day that I had way more energy than he does lately. I wish that would motivate him to stop, but so far it hasn't. That part I have to let him decide :)

[stewbacca]

I'm in my 30's too. That (energy) is one of the things that I absolutely love about being sober.
In the past, I was burned out all the time.
Now, if someone called me at 3 in the morning (be it an emergency or fun)and I had to do something, I'd feel ready to go. I still get tired, but it's not a tired of, "My God, I have to sleep or I think my heart is going to explode."

[flong]

Sleep was the biggest change when I quit. Initially I needed as much sleep as I could get, but after a week it calmed down to about 7 hours a day. I still keep really strange hours, but I hardly ever wake up feeling like hell, obviously from not drinking anymore.

[greengirl32]

I haven't noticed needing less sleep, but the sleep I do get is amazing. It's funny that something so boring (like, telling other people the benefits of not drinking..."yeah, I got GREAT sleep last night"...probably isn't going to make them stop drinking) is such a blessing when you experience it.

[Bridgit]

Yes!
Not so much sleep as downtime. Now I sleep great for average 6 hours and
wake up ready to go...with a coffee or two. :) 17 days today, Yeah!
Hangovers....the sleep was passed out sleep. I'd wake feeling like roadkill and need to lie down, nap, before I started up again. Then more beer and repeat. It feels great being without that.

[Hilikus]

Needing less sleep? No. I find I still need 7 1/2 - 8 hours sleep a night to feel good the next day. I can function on 6 1/2 hours but I am irritable.

Although I find I wake up naturally at 10am on Weekends, where when I was drinking I would sleep sometimes until 2pm.

[Rich]

Sleep like a baby and get by on 6 hours sleep usually. I love it