In a recent and massive study that was comprised of 10,000 individuals from across the world called “the world’s largest sleep study” by experts in the field, has given us more insight than we have had before in regard to the importance of sleep. Although rarely mentioned within recovery circles, sleep is an integral part of the self-care aspect of any quality recovery program. As any of us who hasn’t gotten a good night’s sleep know, it can play a huge role in affecting energy levels, cognitive functioning, and mood throughout the day. Although a relatively easy fix, we must have the knowledge of what type of sleep is optimal before we are able to put it into action.
Some of the take-aways from the aforementioned sleep study is that there is in fact an optimal length of time to sleep which was identified as anywhere between 7 and 8 hours per night. While the study showed that approximately 50% of people actually report sleeping less than 6.3 hours, it was discovered that not obtaining the full amount of sleep would impair cognitive ability, decision making ability, and communication ability. Another interesting take-away from this study was that there was no difference in impairment for those who slept more than 8 hours, also termed hypersomnia, and those who slept less than 6.3 hours. This is interesting because we have known that not getting an adequate amount of sleep has potentially negative benefits, but we were unaware that there would be impairment of the same degree in the case of over sleepers.
Because the adoption of routine in all facets of life is crucial for addicts in early recovery, engaging in a set sleep schedule is an easy place to begin incorporating routine into our daily lives. Experts suggest that we try and establish a particular time to go to bed every night, and then try and wake up between the 7 and 8 hour mark in order to ensure optimal performance during the day. While in our addiction, it is likely that our sleep schedule revolved only around our drug use schedule, and oftentimes sleep becomes difficult due to withdrawal symptoms or because we were too high to be able to fall asleep. Armed with the knowledge of what we need in order to function optimally, we can apply this right away and begin to start reaping the rewards of a structured and adequate sleep routine.
Tree House Recovery of Orange County, California is a premier men’s addiction treatment facility that uses eight different modalities to help our men become the best versions of themselves they can be. We teach our men that every day of their journey is something to celebrate, and that recovery isn’t a sprint– it’s a marathon. To get started with Tree House Recovery, call us today at (855) 202-2138.
