Sudden sleepiness while lifting?

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dersarkissian
dersarkissian Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone experience a sudden onset of sleepiness while lifting? I get super sleepy all of a sudden. I’m assuming my body is telling me I’m done but I’m wondering if there’s more to it than that? Should I keep pressing on or stop?

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  • vm007
    vm007 Posts: 241 Member
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    lol haha- I feel like that during cardio when I'm on the bike. (Stationary thankfully).
    How's your caloric intake before workout? What kind of caloric intake is it?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    My first thought, oxygen deprivation. Is there an artery being squeezed?

    https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Sleeper+Hold
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Perhaps your doctor would be qualified to answer that question. That said, the thought of lifting makes me want to take a nap.
  • C_Stretton
    C_Stretton Posts: 201 Member
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    How's your breathing when you lift? I hold my breath during heavy lifts and then sometimes forget to exhale and inhale before the next rep. That definitely leads to yawning, but not necessarily sleepiness.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    How is your actual sleep each night? Do you get sleepy at any other times during the day?
  • CJ_Holmes
    CJ_Holmes Posts: 759 Member
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    What kind of lifting are we talking? like max effort, full body lifts? My thoughts- could be breathing, adrenaline, blood sugar. But "sleepiness" seems strange compared to regular fatigue. Are you hydrated? Is your blood pressure normal? Thyroid ok? Probably good to have the basic stuff checked by a doctor, in case you have some underlying problem that you only notice while lifting. I'm diabetic and have severe sleepy spells when my blood sugar goes up, which can happen during heavy exertion.
  • dersarkissian
    dersarkissian Posts: 15 Member
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    vm007 wrote: »
    lol haha- I feel like that during cardio when I'm on the bike. (Stationary thankfully).
    How's your caloric intake before workout? What kind of caloric intake is it?
    Ummmmm....none. Lol
  • serenityfrye
    serenityfrye Posts: 360 Member
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    Blood sugar/blood pressure would have been my guess. I used to black out during cardio and my doctor said it was due to rapid drop in blood sugar. She prescribed peanut butter pre-workout lol
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    dersarkissian wrote: »
    vm007 wrote: »
    lol haha- I feel like that during cardio when I'm on the bike. (Stationary thankfully).
    How's your caloric intake before workout? What kind of caloric intake is it?
    Ummmmm....none. Lol

    I get that way if I don’t eat before lifting. I usually have some carbs and protein about 45 min before and usually nibble on a babana between sets. Have to experiment and see what works for you.
  • Zimm7
    Zimm7 Posts: 44 Member
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    I used to do some late night workouts, and had a couple episodes of sleepiness. I now prefer early morning... like 5 or 6am. It feels great and no sleepiness.
  • Kbreezy1964
    Kbreezy1964 Posts: 10 Member
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    This is going to come from a paramedic standpoint so please excuse me for going right to the medical question...have you ever had a stress test EKG? The reason I ask is lifting can cause a condition called atrial fibrillation, it’s not super dangerous so don’t think that, but can cause you to feel very sleepy and a little dizzy when you load your body or try and hold your breath while lifting. I would see your Doctor just for kicks and giggles and see if this could be a possibility. If so, it’s totally fixable...hope this helps....
  • Vladimirnapkin
    Vladimirnapkin Posts: 299 Member
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    I've had that sleepy feeling many, many times when starting up some activity. (Starting to accelerate on the bike is a classic one.) It always goes away after a few seconds. I always felt like it was a lag in getting my heart rate up.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    edited October 2018
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    When I was working out after work, I would get tired when lifting if I hadn't eaten in a while. One day I left the gym after like 1 set because I was just so tired, I assumed I was starting to come down with a sickness or something. I tried to always make sure to eat a little something at least a couple hours beforehand.

    Now I work out in the morning first thing and it's not an issue to work out before eating. I don't know why.

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