More Exercise Less Sleep

jimmytightlips
jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
edited April 2021 in Fitness and Exercise
Wondered if any fitness experts could help

Recently I have increased my weights routine to a few times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) but as soon as I did this I have been getting night sweats and wake up 3/4 times a night if its been an exercise day. I have just had my blood tests come back from the doctor and that was all clear and satisfactory so he suspects its the exercise being too intense (but i can't just stop exercising!).

However, it has been a nearly 2 months and doesn't seem to be calming down as my metabolism gets used to it. Which is weird to me.

Does anyone have any tips for changing my routine to help reduce the sweats. My room is cool enough and duvet switch to thin now its summer.

At the moment as I say I work out Monday/Tuesday/Friday at lunchtimes with dumbbells/home gym for around 40 minutes targeting most muscle groups. I then have a whey protein drink (i have 2 30g scoops of bulk powder with 400 ml water) as during the working week this is the easiest way to get protein in.

There's just so much garbage out there if you google it that not sure what to change... thinking maybe taking protein drinks on the rest days too, moving the exercise earlier, decreasing/increasing the protein drink measurements... etc. any advice welcome to make my sleep better.

On a basic level it would be good to know the science behind what causes them and adjust accordingly.

I'm 34, 5 ''6 and about 10 stone if thats relevant

Thanks,
Jim

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    jimmytightlips wrote: »
    Wondered if any fitness experts could help

    Recently I have increased my weights routine to a few times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) but as soon as I did this I have been getting night sweats and wake up 3/4 times a night if its been an exercise day. I have just had my blood tests come back from the doctor and that was all clear and satisfactory so he suspects its the exercise being too intense (but i can't just stop exercising!).

    However, it has been a nearly 2 months and doesn't seem to be calming down as my metabolism gets used to it. Which is weird to me.

    Does anyone have any tips for changing my routine to help reduce the sweats. My room is cool enough and duvet switch to thin now its summer.

    At the moment as I say I work out Monday/Tuesday/Friday at lunchtimes with dumbbells/home gym for around 40 minutes targeting most muscle groups. I then have a whey protein drink (i have 2 30g scoops of bulk powder with 400 ml water) as during the working week this is the easiest way to get protein in.

    There's just so much garbage out there if you google it that not sure what to change... thinking maybe taking protein drinks on the rest days too, moving the exercise earlier, decreasing/increasing the protein drink measurements... etc. any advice welcome to make my sleep better.

    On a basic level it would be good to know the science behind what causes them and adjust accordingly.

    I'm 34, 5 ''6 and about 10 stone if thats relevant

    Thanks,
    Jim

    What else is in the protein drink besides protein? Anything that could be causing that effect? When you do the workout, and drink the protein drink, are you eating later (closer to bedtime) than you do on days you sleep better?
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    This happens to me, too!

    Sometimes I will get the sweats if I've had a big workout that day. Usually it resolves in an hour or two. I can sometimes see on my Garmin that I had a very mildly elevated HR (e.g., 155 instead of 150BPM) in the earlier part of my sleep cycle that then settled down. But, it is not totally predictable. Some nights this winter I've ridden the spin bike from 9-10PM and still had a great nights sleep afterward. Other times, I've exercised earlier in the day (harder?), and my sleep was interrupted.

    Finally, exercise is not the only factor for me. There is also hydration/electrolytes, food (quantity, timing, composition), caffeine, and alcohol. My suggestion on days where you lift is to make sure you hydrate adequately, eat food including adequate carbs, lower your caffeine intake, and skip the booze.

    Best of luck!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Ditto to nightly processing of foods and body dealing with repair from the workout.

    I'm surprised it's a lunch workout though and still these effects at night.

    After work are you still active, or wiped after workout so hit the couch and dinner at some point. then bed?

    Compared to other nights perhaps being more active?

    Thinking of the blood flow action, helping to get rid of teardown from a good workout, and getting nutrients to muscles.

    Look at timing.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,600 Member
    Are you eating anything before you go to bed? I can get night sweats when I get low blood sugar, you might need a snack before bed (milk and oat cookies - something which doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar). Sometimes they’re not actually linked to temperature. As a woman of a “certain” age they are blooming annoying and you have my sympathy.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,415 Member
    I noticed that on days I ate particularly high carbs I got night sweats.

    I also had bad night sweats at the beginning of my current sinus infection. Thanks, pollen. (And YAY, RAIN!!!!!! I feel like going out and dancing in it, lol.)

    Sweats can be an indication your body is fighting something off.
  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    Hi all, thanks for the replies.

    The whey is this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/BULK-POWDERS-Protein-Powder-Vanilla/dp/B081YVGD5L?th=1. I was drinking these when the workout wasn't so intense and was fine, its only been since I went to 3 days a week.

    I tend to have dinner around 7/8 and go to bed about 11 so nothing really before bed, in terms of food or exercise really, I just chill out most weeknights. I think it might be a timing thing also or what I am eating for dinner. Hard to pin down as my routine during the week with timings is pretty much always the same regardless if its a rest day or not.

    Infection would surely have come up in the bloods unless its been on the tailend of it... I guess I will just tweak my routine a bit, eat a snack before bed and keep an eye on what i am eating and see if my body gets used to the 3 days a week.

    Thanks!
    Jim
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    jimmytightlips wrote: »
    Wondered if any fitness experts could help

    Recently I have increased my weights routine to a few times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) but as soon as I did this I have been getting night sweats and wake up 3/4 times a night if its been an exercise day. I have just had my blood tests come back from the doctor and that was all clear and satisfactory so he suspects its the exercise being too intense (but i can't just stop exercising!).

    However, it has been a nearly 2 months and doesn't seem to be calming down as my metabolism gets used to it. Which is weird to me.

    Does anyone have any tips for changing my routine to help reduce the sweats. My room is cool enough and duvet switch to thin now its summer.

    At the moment as I say I work out Monday/Tuesday/Friday at lunchtimes with dumbbells/home gym for around 40 minutes targeting most muscle groups. I then have a whey protein drink (i have 2 30g scoops of bulk powder with 400 ml water) as during the working week this is the easiest way to get protein in.

    There's just so much garbage out there if you google it that not sure what to change... thinking maybe taking protein drinks on the rest days too, moving the exercise earlier, decreasing/increasing the protein drink measurements... etc. any advice welcome to make my sleep better.

    On a basic level it would be good to know the science behind what causes them and adjust accordingly.

    I'm 34, 5 ''6 and about 10 stone if thats relevant

    Thanks,
    Jim

    What else is in the protein drink besides protein? Anything that could be causing that effect? When you do the workout, and drink the protein drink, are you eating later (closer to bedtime) than you do on days you sleep better?

    Maybe there is some caffeine or other stimulant in your protein drink that is causing the issue?
  • wi1234567890
    wi1234567890 Posts: 57 Member
    Could you be experiencing hypoglycemia? Depending on the intensity of your workout it might take your body between 4 and 24 hours to replenish glycogen stores so hypoglycemia seems possible.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    briscogun wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    jimmytightlips wrote: »
    Wondered if any fitness experts could help

    Recently I have increased my weights routine to a few times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) but as soon as I did this I have been getting night sweats and wake up 3/4 times a night if its been an exercise day. I have just had my blood tests come back from the doctor and that was all clear and satisfactory so he suspects its the exercise being too intense (but i can't just stop exercising!).

    However, it has been a nearly 2 months and doesn't seem to be calming down as my metabolism gets used to it. Which is weird to me.

    Does anyone have any tips for changing my routine to help reduce the sweats. My room is cool enough and duvet switch to thin now its summer.

    At the moment as I say I work out Monday/Tuesday/Friday at lunchtimes with dumbbells/home gym for around 40 minutes targeting most muscle groups. I then have a whey protein drink (i have 2 30g scoops of bulk powder with 400 ml water) as during the working week this is the easiest way to get protein in.

    There's just so much garbage out there if you google it that not sure what to change... thinking maybe taking protein drinks on the rest days too, moving the exercise earlier, decreasing/increasing the protein drink measurements... etc. any advice welcome to make my sleep better.

    On a basic level it would be good to know the science behind what causes them and adjust accordingly.

    I'm 34, 5 ''6 and about 10 stone if thats relevant

    Thanks,
    Jim

    What else is in the protein drink besides protein? Anything that could be causing that effect? When you do the workout, and drink the protein drink, are you eating later (closer to bedtime) than you do on days you sleep better?

    Maybe there is some caffeine or other stimulant in your protein drink that is causing the issue?

    I looked at the ingredients of the one OP linked, didn't see that. Did see sucralose, but it's mostly menopausal (or peri) women complaining about that causing hot flashes, so 🤷‍♀️.

    People can be sensitive to practically anything, though.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,934 Member
    I generally don't sleep well after a somewhat longer evening run, or after being out and about all day walking or cycling. I'm experimenting a bit with my Garmin watch now. After one such longer day the body battery and stress metrics tend to go down quickly, even when sitting on the sofa doing nothing. My hr is still quite a bit faster than normal. So I'm trying to relax, get my HR down. I have the feeling I don't get a restful night because I'm too restless and stressed. Worth a shot.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,934 Member
    I think I wasn't very clear yesterday. My watch is showing metrics on how stressed I am. I think it's mostly based on heart rate variation, but whatever methodology: I feel it correlates quite well with how I feel. I noticed I remained 'stressed out' for hours after long exercises like hiking or cycling, also after longer runs. I went for a very relaxed walk yesterday evening, and then actively tried to relax a bit. My stress reading was eventually going down. And I had a fantastic night in the end, not the usual very restless one.
  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    Wouldn't low blood sugar show up in my tests though? Could be that if somehow evaded in my results
  • wi1234567890
    wi1234567890 Posts: 57 Member
    Low blood sugar is just a guess as I’m not a doctor. It wouldn’t necessarily show up in blood tests because it would be a temporary condition caused by vigorous exercise. Play around with your nutrition and see if anything helps.
  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    Ok it's a good shout. Thanks for the advice
  • MamaMc3
    MamaMc3 Posts: 213 Member
    Have you tried something to replenish electrolytes like Gatorade or Powerade? That's where I would start.
  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks will give it a try!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,978 Member
    Lol, do you dream about working out? My first check would be if you're taking in any stimulants near dinner time like coffee, tea, etc. that have caffiene. The next would be if you're really relaxed before going to bed. And I know it may sound dumb, but certain things you watch on TV can AMP you up instead of calm you. It's anecdotal, but maybe try watching something not too exciting on TV. Lol, I watch "Friends" many time just before sleeping cause the comedy calms me down.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    Lol most of my dreams are very mundane sadly! No exercise dreams. Very rarely have caffeine apart from a morning cuppa but yes do think I could be more relaxed before bed with all the screens we have nowadays! Maybe messing with my circadian rhythm! Will keep you posted on how it all goes. Thanks
  • jimmytightlips
    jimmytightlips Posts: 7 Member
    So far a few tweaks to the diet to add fruit and sports drinks on exercise days does seem to be reducing them... so either my body is getting used to the exercise or the changes are helping... moving in the right direction though!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,176 Member
    jimmytightlips wrote: »
    So far a few tweaks to the diet to add fruit and sports drinks on exercise days does seem to be reducing them... so either my body is getting used to the exercise or the changes are helping... moving in the right direction though!

    That's great! Thanks for coming back with an update: I always wonder how the story turns out, when someone posts asking for advice, and gets a diversity of it.

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