If I'm addicted to cigarettes and feel a physical urge to smoke every hour I'm awake, why don't those urges interrupt my sleep at night?

....from just dabbling to having to go to detox, to methadone treatment. Sure you can do maybe 3 bags and stop yourself for a day or however long. But when you're doing a bundle or more a day, for longer than a few weeks at a time, as you try to stop.... you are not going to have a fun time. Also, the more times you experience a withdrawal, the worse they get. I remember the days where I had done opiates for months and I had stopped, and nothing happened - maybe a stomach ache - to the point where I did perc 30's for 2 weeks and the withdrawals ended up me having to go on methadone because I couldn't sit still - but then again, I had only been "clean" for a few weeks before I had gotten into a terrible accident where I was out on the opiates. I just can't believe someone when they say they know all about opiates, and they do them regularly enough but they can stop with no issue for the weekend. Even if you don't get sick, your restless leg syndrome will put you over the edge enough to want to take a gun to your kneecaps. But maybe I'm just being dramatic.

/r/askscience Thread Parent