Navigating Extreme Fatigue After Quitting Alcohol: Tips for Early Sobriety

If you’ve decided to quit drinking, congratulations. This is a major step toward a healthier, happier life, and you’ll avoid the social, mental, and physical health issues like extreme fatigue after quitting alcohol that can be a consequence if you’re drinking heavily for a long time. This healthy step can bring about some unpleasant feelings, and you could be wondering how long these side effects and new feelings might last.

If you’re worried about extreme fatigue after quitting alcohol, you’re not alone. It’s essential to keep in mind that fatigue and other side effects are common in the early days of sobriety, and it’s a sign that your body is starting to recover from the damage caused by drinking.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health, our team of experts helps patients understand what they’re feeling and experiencing as they quit drinking and start to live a better new life in recovery. Our comprehensive treatment programs include therapy and coaching to help people like you prepare for these feelings and manage side effects as you get better.

Making the change is easier with us at your side every step of the way. Let’s explore why these side effects might happen in the stages of alcoholism recovery and how we can help you get through this temporary period.

What Is Alcohol Fatigue Syndrome?

Whether you’re a so-called functional alcoholic or drinking is actively destroying your life and social relationships, you could be at risk of unpleasant symptoms like extreme fatigue when you quit drinking.

So, why does this happen?

According to Healthline, many symptoms can appear just hours or a few days after a heavy drinker’s last drink, including:

• Anxiety, insomnia, confusion, or nightmares
• Nausea and vomiting
• Headaches
• Increased heart rate or high blood pressure
• Sweating

In extreme cases, heavy drinkers can experience delirium tremens, which can cause death. That’s why it’s so important to quit drinking with help from experts like the team at Resurgence Behavioral Health, who can help you get through this process much more comfortably and safely with medical detox programs.

All of these withdrawal symptoms can affect your sleep quality or make it difficult to sleep at all, and this can cause extreme fatigue. Even if you keep drinking, you’re at a high risk of alcohol fatigue syndrome, which will make you chronically sleepy. That’s why you’re much better off quitting drinking with help from professionals who can get you back to quality sleep and a more rested state.

How Long Does Fatigue Last After You Stop Drinking?

While most people will relatively recover from alcohol withdrawal symptoms, they’re still at risk of experiencing disturbed sleep, irritability, and even extreme fatigue that can last for several months. Extreme fatigue after quitting alcohol usually isn’t a quick thing that you recover from, and the reality is this process can take quite a while as your body restores its balance after a long period of heavy drinking.

Part of the cause is what happens to your central nervous system as a drinker—your brain chemistry is changed, and your brain and nervous system don’t quite know how to respond to the sudden absence of alcohol that it has come to expect. Things will take a while to settle down, leaving you tired or sluggish for a long time before your body becomes balanced again.

Writer and musician CJ Thurlow reflected on what she experienced in her first year of sobriety after drinking. In an essay for Vogue, she explained the drastic changes that she had noticed in her social life, as well as the way her body responded when she quit drinking for good. In her essay, she said her hormones went “buck wild,” and she felt overly emotional for a long time as her body adapted to the significant change.

“Your body will start doing strange things as it adjusts to your new life: more sweat, more hormones, more tears, more lust, more fatigue,” she wrote. Eventually, she said she felt like she “brightened” once her body got used to not drinking anymore.

How Does Alcohol Affect Sleep and Energy Levels?

It might seem like a drink or two helps a person relax and sleep, but this is not what’s actually happening, and drinking will undoubtedly negatively affect your sleep. According to Harvard Medical School, alcohol causes the body to raise its level of epinephrine—a stress hormone—and this will increase the heart rate and stimulate the body overall. It’s believed that alcohol might be the reason for as much as 10% of persistent insomnia cases.

In addition to causing this spike of the stress hormone that won’t help you sleep, alcohol relaxes throat muscles, which can make things like breathing problems and even sleep apnea much worse. It’s clear that drinking won’t help you sleep and, most likely, it’ll rob your body of the restful sleep it needs.

What Can You Do to Manage Fatigue in the Early Stages of Sobriety?

Self-care and patience are some of the best ways of dealing with extreme fatigue after quitting alcohol. Remember that you’ve made a major change, and it’s for the best. Adapting to this new existence might take your body and brain a bit longer.

Focusing on getting a healthy amount of sleep and taking it easy while your body recovers can help immensely. In addition, things like meditation and counseling can help you address concerns or anxiety that might interrupt your sleep and contribute to your overall tiredness.

When you quit drinking with help from Resurgence Behavioral Health, we can work with you to address symptoms like extreme fatigue with therapy, medications, and support. You’re not alone if you’re tired after quitting drinking, but it won’t be like this forever, and you’re on the road to a much better life. It’ll be worth the temporary sleepiness that you might experience.

Resurgence Can Help If You’re Suffering Extreme Fatigue After Quitting Alcohol

If you or a loved one is struggling with alcohol addiction, deciding to quit drinking is the best thing you can do. But doing this alone can be incredibly difficult and even dangerous if you experience severe withdrawal once you’re no longer drinking. Fortunately, you don’t have to do this alone.

At Resurgence Behavioral Health’s alcohol rehab in California, our team of experts can work with you to get through withdrawal symptoms safely with medically supervised detox. Our comprehensive addiction treatment programs include therapy, medication, and other forms of support to help your brain and body get used to your new reality.

When you leave our rehab center, you’ll be ready to embrace long-lasting recovery. You have a brighter future ahead, even if you temporarily have to deal with extreme fatigue after quitting alcohol. Call Resurgence in California today at 855-458-0050 and let us help you get the better life you deserve.

External Sources

• Healthline – Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More
• Harvard Health Publishing – Alcohol and Fatigue
• Vogue – 9 Hard-Earned Lessons from 365 Days of Sobriety

David Rofofsky
After growing up in New York, David chose to get help with substance abuse in California because of the state's reputation for top-tier treatment. There, he found the treatment he needed to achieve more than nine years of recovery. He's been in the drug and alcohol addiction rehab industry for eight years and now serves as the Director of Admissions for Resurgence Behavioral Health. David remains passionate about the field because he understands how hard it is to pick up the phone and ask for help. However, once the call is made, someone's life can be saved.

Research | Editorial