Late daily exercise but insomnia?

TaninaFit
TaninaFit Posts: 29 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I’ve suffered from insomnia for six months now. Tried one million different solutions. Two weeks ago I started adding daily exercise. So far only every other day. Will be daily. Due to work sometimes I’m not home till 21:30 -22:00.

What’s people experience of how late you can exercise without it making your sleep worse?

In my case it’s still very light exercise, jogging but mainly cycling. Still only at 20 - 30mins.

Replies

  • forgtmenot
    forgtmenot Posts: 860 Member
    I’m usually ok as long as I don’t exercise within a couple hours of bedtime. I need at least 2 hours to wind down
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,575 Member
    This is very individual, so you might need to experiment.

    I'm usually OK exercising shortly before bed, especially if I do some relax-y thing after exercise before bed (meditate, gentle stretching, herb tea or warm bath sort of thing). Some of my friends report not being able to go to sleep for hours after the same exercise (I row on a team, so we've done the very same exercise at the same time of day, for the same amount of time, at roughly similar intensity).
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I'm not sure. I used to do dance classes at night, go home, have a snack, go to bed just fine. Now, I much prefer to get up early and do my workout first. I still do an afternoon workout, but the latest I finish is usually about 5:30pm. Have you tried working out in the morning if working out at night keeps you awake?
  • MidlifeCrisisFitness
    MidlifeCrisisFitness Posts: 1,106 Member
    forgtmenot wrote: »
    I’m usually ok as long as I don’t exercise within a couple hours of bedtime. I need at least 2 hours to wind down

    Same. No screens after my exercise.
  • MeganD1704
    MeganD1704 Posts: 733 Member
    I need 2-3 hrs to wind down. My general rule is no workouts after 8PM as I do typically take a pre workout as well to give me the boost I need for the HIIT or TRX workout of the day. I will only take a half scoop if its in the evenings.

    I strive to workout in the mornings as much as possible, however I havent been sleeping well at all with everything going on at work with Covid.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I need a good 2-3 hours to be able to sleep after exercise.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,748 Member
    People sleep better if their body is cooler. Exercise, followed by a hot shower, is likely to raise your body temperature, making it harder to fall asleep. Try finishing your shower with cold water. Turn down the temperature in your house or open a window. Take the dog for a walk.
    Don't bundle up and jump into bed.
  • TaninaFit
    TaninaFit Posts: 29 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    This is very individual, so you might need to experiment.

    I'm usually OK exercising shortly before bed, especially if I do some relax-y thing after exercise before bed (meditate, gentle stretching, herb tea or warm bath sort of thing).
    Does the herbal tea not make you want to go to the toilet more during the night?

  • TaninaFit
    TaninaFit Posts: 29 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    People sleep better if their body is cooler. Exercise, followed by a hot shower, is likely to raise your body temperature, making it harder to fall asleep. Try finishing your shower with cold water. Turn down the temperature in your house or open a window. Take the dog for a walk.
    Don't bundle up and jump into bed.
    Thanks, this is insightful! Hadn’t thought about it, but it is a bit uncomfortable how I feel warmer because I’ve started exercising again.

    I hate the idea of a cold shower but will definitely try it regardless.

    I have tried with the open windows, will keep doing that.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,575 Member
    TaninaFit wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    This is very individual, so you might need to experiment.

    I'm usually OK exercising shortly before bed, especially if I do some relax-y thing after exercise before bed (meditate, gentle stretching, herb tea or warm bath sort of thing).
    Does the herbal tea not make you want to go to the toilet more during the night?

    I haven't found it to do so. It's usually just one cup, of something like chamomile or Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime, or somesuch thing. But I'm not super sensitive that way, when it comes to drinking liquids close to bedtime (even though I'm old ;) ) - rarely have to get up in the night - so YMMV.
  • TaninaFit
    TaninaFit Posts: 29 Member
    I'm in a "Sleep Programme" atm, and was advised this today,
    "When it comes to having a direct effect on getting a good night's sleep, it's vigorous exercise in the late afternoon or early evening that appears most beneficial. That's because it raises your body temperature above normal a few hours before bed, allowing it to start falling just as you're getting ready for bed. This decrease in body temperature appears to be a trigger that helps ease you into sleep."
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,980 Member
    I have the same problem. And can only run or do more thorough exercises in the evening after dinner. At the moment I'm kind of fine as I'm working from home (no commute), and cook my dinner during working hours. But once lockdown eases and I'll be back at the office I'm in the same situation again.

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