Sleep During Detox
Sleep problems experienced during detox, like extreme fatigue and insomnia, are part of a group of withdrawal symptoms that range from mild to severe. Fortunately, with the proper treatment, you can overcome sleep problems that impact your physical and psychological well-being.
Author Susanne Reed, PhD
How Is Sleep Affected During Drug Or Alcohol Detox?
Drug and alcohol use disrupts neurotransmitter functioning in your brain, which also makes getting quality sleep difficult.
If you’ve tried quitting drugs or alcohol before, then you know sleep problems during detox may not immediately go away. One reason is that it can take time for the brain to adjust to no longer having drugs or alcohol in your system. However, there are multiple treatment options, including medications, to help you sleep during detox.
During a medically assisted detox, you don’t have to worry about experiencing uncomfortable sleep issues. You will have access to doctors and nurses who can ensure you get adequate sleep. They know exactly how to treat sleep disturbances during drug or alcohol detox, including two of the significant disruptions: fatigue and insomnia.
Fatigue During Detox
Developing a substance use disorder happens over a long period, and it may take a while for their effects on your brain and body to repair. During detox, your body works overtime to flush out toxins so the repair process can begin. Your body expends a lot of energy trying to heal itself, which can leave you feeling tired. Fatigue can sometimes make you feel unmotivated to complete daily tasks. There are treatments to help you with fatigue so you can successfully detox.
Fatigue may be accompanied by other common symptoms, like:
- Body aches and pains
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Cold sweats
- High fever
- Muscle spasms
- Mood swings
These symptoms, too, can be treated so that you feel less discomfort during detox.
Treatment teams understand that experiencing these symptoms is exhausting. After any illness, rest is one of the best remedies. Unfortunately, detoxing from drugs and alcohol can make getting rest seem impossible. It is crucial to consult with a physician about feeling fatigued during detox so they can assess you for underlying conditions that may be appearing now that substances are no longer masking the symptoms, such as:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
- Cushing’s syndrome
- Epilepsy
- Fibromyalgia
- Inflammatory bowel disorder
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Multiple sclerosis
- Depression
- Anxiety
Fatigue can be physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, motivational, and psychosocial. Even if it causes you to spend much of your time in bed, you aren’t getting the quality sleep you need to recover properly.
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Insomnia During Detox
Insomnia is the primary sleep disturbance during detox, which may mean you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early. If you’ve ever had insomnia, you know the symptoms may include:
- Fatigue
- Inability to stay focused
- Memory problems
- Psychosocial dysfunction
- Mood swings
- Behavioral problems
- Lack of motivation
- Prone to errors or clumsiness
- Daytime drowsiness
Fortunately, there are many treatments for insomnia during detox, even when the symptoms are directly related to the type of substance from which you are detoxing. For example, it is common for people using alcohol, opioids, marijuana, cocaine, and benzodiazepines to experience sleep problems during detox due to the following reasons:
- Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the airway, causing snoring and impairing the arousal response during sleep that wakes you up when you don’t get enough air. Alcohol also disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm.
- Opioids depress respiratory rate and reflex responses and cause dysfunction in the upper airway. Breathing, which is already depressed while sleeping, becomes even more depressed when taking opioids. This puts you in danger of respiratory failure.
- Cannabis has hypnotic effects but does not help you get better sleep. Instead, it interferes with the natural cycling through stages of sleep, interrupting them so that you cannot get quality, restorative sleep. Many people report having vivid, strange dreams or nightmares when withdrawing from marijuana.
- Cocaine is a drug that causes arousal, disrupting sleep by making it hard to stay asleep long. It also takes much longer to fall asleep. It leads to erratic sleep schedules, causing an imbalance in your circadian rhythm because it interferes with your brain’s ability to produce melatonin.
- Benzodiazepines can lead to respiratory problems during sleep due to their suppression of the central nervous system. It can slow your heart and breathing rates so low that it prevents you from getting oxygen.
Insomnia may be accompanied by other sleep disorders during detox, such as sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome. Working with your treatment team to cope with sleep disturbances during detox can help you heal faster and adjust to living independently of substances.
How To Cope With Insomnia During Detox
Understanding the importance of sleep is the first step in coping with sleep disturbances.
Sleep occurs in progressive stages of non-REM, stages 1 through 3, and REM sleep:
- Light sleep, when you transition from wakefulness to sleep
- Deeper sleep, when your body prepares for restorative sleep
- Deepest sleep, where healing takes place
- Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the most restorative stage for mental health
Quality sleep involves cycling through these stages six to eight times each night. While sleeping, the brain and body restore themselves, returning the body to homeostasis.
Part of detox treatment is helping you discover techniques that improve your sleep. Treatment professionals can teach you non-pharmacological activities you can implement to help you get better sleep, including the following:
- Relaxation techniques like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation
- Biofeedback
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Stimulus control
- Bright light therapy
- Sleep restriction therapy
- Exercise
Improving your sleep hygiene can reset your body’s sleep circadian rhythm or natural process and get you on a routine schedule. Having a routine trains your mind and body to associate your bedroom with sleep. Sleep hygiene includes the following:
- Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day
- Exercising regularly
- Not eating before going to bed
- Not drinking caffeine within four to six hours of going to bed
- Engaging in relaxation activities
- Avoiding technology at least an hour before bed
- Avoiding engaging in other activities in your bedroom, like eating or working
- Using a comfortable mattress
- Making the bedroom comfortable, quiet, and a comfortable temperature
Improving sleep during detox can help you develop healthy habits that will continue long after your insomnia and detox symptoms are gone. Make it a priority so you can experience the long-term benefits of quality sleep.
How Are Sleep Issues Treated During A Medical Detox?
In a medical detox center, detoxification and sleep disturbances are treated based on your unique needs. Because of the many factors affecting your sleep during detox, there is no one-size-fits-all sleep treatment.
Factors affecting the detox experience may include gender, substance of use, length of use, amount of use, biological or genetic abnormalities, and other stressors. Your treatment team will create a plan for improving sleep during detox and beyond, which may include:
Sleep Medications Used During Detox
Physicians can administer medications to help you sleep better during detox and beyond. Some medications used for alcohol or opioid detox can create a sedative-like effect, allowing your brain to relax and rest, such as the following:
- Benzodiazepines, a sedative
- Acamprosate stabilizes brain chemicals during alcohol withdrawal
- Antidepressants to treat depression and anxiety and stabilize brain chemicals
- Gabapentin to treat nerve pain and prevent convulsions
- Trazodone, an antidepressant and sedative
- Buprenorphine is a low-dose opioid sedative
- Doxepin, an antidepressant for insomnia
Doctors may integrate non-prescription sleep aids into your treatment plan. For example, they may prescribe melatonin, chamomile, and valerian root supplements, all known to help you sleep. Their ultimate goal is to help you feel good during detox so you can focus on learning how to prevent relapse.
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Find A Treatment Center
Learning how to sleep better during detox is imperative for recovery. If you struggle with sleep problems and are looking to enter a detox program, or are worried about experiencing them during detox, it is essential to find a program that offers medical supervision, giving you access to pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies.
Explore our rehab directory to find centers that offer medical detox programs or contact a treatment provider to explore your rehab options and get started today.
