I am a recovering alcoholic/drug addict and so is my husband. We just had this discussion a few days ago about not being able to sleep through the night. My husband actually wakes every one to two hours and I sleep for three hours then I am woke for one to two hours unless I take something to help me sleep.

I have been clean and sober for nearly 25 years and still do not sleep well. I have tried various non-addictive medications with little real success. I currently take trazadone, but it does not work very well. Maybe it is time for a sleep study.

"Researcher Ian Colrain and colleagues said the sleep disruptions probably worsen the mental problems associated with long-term drinking." This is very interesting! Alcohol is well-known for disrupting the quality of sleep. I'd be willing to bet that the sleep disruptions brought on by drinking affect a lot more than just the mind and memory formation. More and more, researchers are discovering that poor quality sleep and/or too little sleep contributes to all sorts of physical problems like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hormonal disruptions, etc.

Thank you to the researchers who have confirmed what I've been living with all these years. Maybe some day people like me will actually get better when they get in recovery. In the interim, I'll keep working in the Prevention field, so fewer people end up needing Recovery.

Looking forward to research findings! Before I found recovery I slept so soundly I was difficult to wake up. Three and a half year's into recovery, on a good night I sleep for four to five hours. If at all possible I will take a nap after work to feel good. I do not use sleep anymore they don't seem to help. I know many people who have returned to drinking to "help them sleep".

Still has trouble falling back to sleep after awakening every morning at 300 am. I even did a sleep study for apnea and my DR. said it wasn't "that bad." So this may explain my difficulty with going back to sleep after 4 or 5 hrs. of sound rest.

I really relate to this one. I've been clean/sober for 21 1/2 yrs. I've had sleep studies & wear a CPAP for mild apnea. I generally sleep good for about 4-5 hrs & wake up. Only doze for short periods after that. Infrequently have bouts with insomnia for several days. I've tried all the "safe" sleep aids with no luck. Even tried benzos out of desperation. Still no real improvement. I've just kind of resigned myself to this, but still hold out hope that something can be done someday.

I own & operate drug treatment programs. For those that have trouble sleeping I highly recommend taking 400mg Lecithin Concentrate (from Soy) gel tablets an hour before bedtime. They have no side affects, are inexpensive, and provide great results to help you have a restful nights sleep when all else fails. I personally use them as do many of my patients who are tired of the narcotics & OTC roller coaster they've been on for sleep aides. Those of us in the addictions treatment and mental health field can serve our patients better if we encouraged the use of supplements & vitamins as opposed to prescriptions. If you care about helping the people you treat take the time to do some research on the power of vitamins and supplements as that boost up in getting clean and staying in recovery.

Didn't sleep well for about a year after I quit drinking and was exhausted all the time. Drank a lot of coffee. When I got off caffeine (for another medical problem) it changed my life. I wake up feeling rested and have energy to exercise in the morning before work. I eat better (less sugar and junk food) and feel younger. It feels great to feel great again without drugs. I'm actually thankful I had the problem that got be off the caffeine (it's gone too).