Sleep & Exercise

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kiela64
kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone else have a really hard time getting to sleep & staying asleep after working out that day?

I feel too "awake" even if I read & have a bath to try to calm down. I toss & turn a lot, and wake up in the night, doze in & out of sleep. It's not very restful. Even when I work out earlier in the afternoon like 3-4 this still seems to happen.

Any thoughts on why this is/how to fix it?

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  • ScubaSteve1962
    ScubaSteve1962 Posts: 612 Member
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    I work out in the morning, and have no problem getting to sleep, usually a few minutes after my head hit the pillow. I usually wound up when I get to work. I don't know it may be the adrenaline rush that's keeping your body from going into rest mode. I've heard other people have this problem too.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,138 Member
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    Nope, I'm usually out like a light. The only time it's impacted me was when I was playing team sports that didn't finish until 10pm and I'd be super wired!

    I have had long periods of insomnia through out my life though. So I have a bedtime routine and also sometimes do some breathing exercises to facilitate relaxation and sleepiness.
  • louubelle16
    louubelle16 Posts: 579 Member
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    As long as I take some time to chill out after getting home from the gym/running and having my shower, I'm fine. I sit in my front room and lie down watching TV with the lights off, drinking chamomile tea until I feel sleepy. It takes about 45 minutes before I'm ready for bed, but it helps me switch off.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »
    I work out in the morning, and have no problem getting to sleep, usually a few minutes after my head hit the pillow. I usually wound up when I get to work. I don't know it may be the adrenaline rush that's keeping your body from going into rest mode. I've heard other people have this problem too.

    I'm thinking I might need to try working out in the mornings, if that might help. I don't have the option to work out mid-morning because there are a ton of kids camps at my gym during the week, but I can try it on the weekends and see how it goes. Ideally, I'd like to work on getting up earlier to get to the gym & work out before 9 so that when school starts I can keep that up. But when I'm sleeping really fitfully (waking up/still awake at 2 or 3) it's hard to convince myself to even get up at 8 the next day haha.
    oh_happy_day wrote: »
    Nope, I'm usually out like a light. The only time it's impacted me was when I was playing team sports that didn't finish until 10pm and I'd be super wired!

    I have had long periods of insomnia through out my life though. So I have a bedtime routine and also sometimes do some breathing exercises to facilitate relaxation and sleepiness.

    That definitely happened to me when I did yoga, the classes wouldn't finish until 8:30pm and I wouldn't get home until 9 - there was No Way I'd even get to bed before 12am. But I thought finishing at 4pm would be better...apparently not! I have insomnia when I'm stressed out, but this is a very different pattern. I have a bedtime routine too but maybe I need to work on it a bit more.

    Thanks!
  • slideaway1
    slideaway1 Posts: 1,006 Member
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    I don't have any trouble getting the right amount of sleep I need but I do have something known as "lucid dreams" every night which can be exhausting lol. I've heard that some people strive to reach this state to make sleeping more interesting but I would rather just be completely unconscious for seven hours and wake up instead of the "adventures" that I get up too.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
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    The opposite for me, if I don't work out (eg rest day) I sleep poorly, if I don't exercise for a couple of days on the trot then my insomnia comes back. As long as I finish a run/ bike at least an hour before bed then I tend to be asleep as soon as my head its my pillow.

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