The Robert Alexander Center for Recovery provides help, care, and support to those who need it most. Sleep is essential for healing. Here are 3 ways to get better sleep & why it’s important for people in recovery, according to science.
Why Sleep is Important for Recovery
Drugs and alcohol, no matter the type, can mess with your sleep cycles. Yet quality sleep cycles are essential while in recovery. Some sleep stages, like REM, help your brain settle. And others, like N2, build body proteins for physical healing. Any disruptions to these will cause physical and mental fatigue and stressful disorders such as depression and anxiety. Additionally, the disruptive effects of poor sleep are linked to a higher rate of relapse or continued use. You can think you need a specific drug or alcohol to actually fall asleep when you don’t.
How to Get Better Sleep as a Recovering Addict
You may have an undiagnosed sleeping disorder. But in most cases, you can help yourself sleep better with some minor lifestyle adjustments. These include the following:
Stick to a healthy sleep schedule
Scheduling your sleep might sound crazy. But it can help you a lot. When you plan your sleep, you help prepare your brain for sleeping at a specific time of night. Therefore, over time, you can condition yourself to begin to feel sleepy. Schedule so you have at least eight hours.
Exercise during the day
Exercise will tire you out. Therefore, you might be tempted to exercise before bed. But this is a mistake. It’s more beneficial to exercise during the day because it stimulates your body and mind. Don’t exercise at least three hours before your bedtime for better results.
Limit exposure to light and sound
You are programmed to sleep in the dark because you are not nocturnal like some animals. Additionally, sounds can keep you awake, especially during irritable recovery stages. Make your room as dark as possible, and wear earplugs to dampen sounds that might wake you.
Of course, there is much more to sleep than making some minor adjustments, and treatment as part of recovery can be ongoing. Yet we will advise and guide you through all related issues.
The Services We Offer
At our state-of-the-art treatment center, we offer a variety of services. In addition, we offer one of the best drug and alcohol therapies in the country. The treatments we offer have proven effective in helping patients with severe addictions to drugs and alcohol:
Detoxification
Because we understand the causes of addiction, we offer effective treatment. However, we must stop you from abusing the substances before we can help you. We use evidence-based detox techniques before entering therapy to begin the process before you receive therapy.
Intensive outpatient
The intensive outpatient program provides non-residential care on a part-time basis. Our facility provides treatment a few times a week for a few hours at a time. Addiction is a severe problem, and anything less would not suffice. However, it requires commitment on your part as well.
Outpatient
Outpatient care is less intensive than IOP. However, it is still highly effective. The most notable difference is that outpatient treatment is more flexible. As a result, this type of treatment is best suited to patients who aren’t entirely dependent on a substance but want help.
Take a Look Around the RAC
These are just a few of the services we offer at the RAC. And we do not turn anyone away because our mission is to reduce addiction rates across Kentucky and beyond. So take a look at our facility and decide for yourself how you want to change your life. We are warm and welcoming to everyone, and we don’t discriminate. We are open to the LGTBQ+ community, veterans, and college students. Using a multiple pathways therapeutic approach, we combine evidence-based successful treatments over a sustained longer period than most.