Sleep plays a critical role in restoring the body and brain,
enabling you to face life's daily challenges in a state of readiness and
wellness. Unfortunately, sleep disorders such as insomnia may cause many
sufferers to turn to addictive drugs for relief. At the same time, these drugs
can actually reduce sleep quality.
If you or someone you love can't seem to get a decent
night's sleep, you can benefit from understanding the two-way links between
insomnia and substance abuse or addiction. Take a look at four eye-opening
points regarding substance abuse and sleep.
1. People With Sleep Disorders May Self-Medicate
If you suffer from a sleep disorder, you may try just about
anything to sleep through the night, including sleeping pills, alcohol,
marijuana, and opioid drugs originally prescribed for another condition. If you
constantly feel tired from lack of sleep, you may get into a habit of abusing caffeine,
amphetamines, or other stimulants.
Self-medication with these kinds of substances can easily
lead to addiction. As the body builds up a tolerance to the original dosage
that seemed to provide relief, you may find yourself taking more and more of
the substance in question just to function. At this point, you may need
professional treatment to get over your dependency.
2. Many Addictive Drugs Degrade Sleep Quality
By altering your metabolism or brain chemistry, many
addictive drugs have the power to keep you awake all night or make what little
sleep you do get less than satisfactory. Most obviously, stimulants such as
amphetamines can keep you in a hyper-vigilant state, potentially compelling you
to compensate with depressants.
Many people treat alcohol as a sleep aid. However, while
this substance can often help nudge you into drowsiness, it doesn't actually
promote deep or restful sleep. Most notably, alcohol interferes
with rapid eye movement (REM) and slow-wave sleep (SWS), both critical factors
in sleep quality.
Even opioids, known for their ability to induce profoundly
deep sleep, ultimately have a negative impact on your sleep quality. These
drugs can trigger abrupt shifts between one sleep phase and the next.
Withdrawal from these drugs can also cause even worse insomnia than you
experienced before you used them.
3. You Can Grow Dependent on Sleeping Medications
You might assume that the many sleep medications available
either over the counter or by prescription can give you the sleep you need
without the risks of opioids or alcohol. However, sleep aids such as
benzodiazepines can have addictive properties of their own, causing you to
trade one dependence for another.
Zolpidem, better known by the brand name Ambien, has
exploded in popularity as a less addictive option among the prescription sleep
aids. Even this drug, however, can produce a rebound effect that leads some
users to abuse it. The combination of Ambien with more commonly abused drugs
such as alcohol can prove hazardous.
4. Insomnia Plus Chemical Dependency Merits Specialized
Treatment
Addiction recovery practitioners recognize the need for
extra care in the treatment of some co-occurring disorders. Chronic insomnia
and chemical dependency count as a co-occurring disorder due to the way one
issue often feeds the other. If you have chronic insomnia, you need treatment
for it as well as your addiction.
Due to the potential for addiction to both prescription and
non-prescription sedatives, your therapist will most likely recommend that you
use non-chemical means to correct your sleep disorder. Options may include
stress reduction techniques such as massage or meditation as well as changes to
your bedtime routine.
If you take blood pressure drugs or medications that contain
caffeine (both of which can interfere with sleep), ask your primary care
physician whether you can take less disruptive alternatives to those drugs. If
your addiction actually fuels your insomnia, treatment that breaks the
addiction may resolve your sleep issues.
If you can't sleep either without chemicals or
because of them, Oak Arbor can evaluate your situation and recommend the right
treatment program to help you get your life back to normal.
Contact
our treatment center
today to learn more and schedule a consultation with our addiction recovery
experts.
