Working out and sleep

hyper_stitch
hyper_stitch Posts: 180 Member
edited November 12 in Fitness and Exercise
Just wondering how much sleep everyone's getting? Do you need more when you're working out?

I'm feeling tired to the point that I'm struggling to concentrate, I have a young child so I except that sleep can be hard to come by at times.

I'm probably geting between 5.5 - 6.5 hours a night, I know 8 hours is the recommended but wondered if anyone else does ok with this?

Thanks :yawn:
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Replies

  • azjlmar123
    azjlmar123 Posts: 39 Member
    I work nights so for me to get 5 hours of sleep after work is a big deal for me! I am usually way more tired on days that I do weight lifting than cardio days. Thankfully I only work 4 nights a week so i can get 3 nights of LOTS of sleep to play catch up. I am doing p90x for the first time and the first couple of days really whipped me!
  • beduffbrickie
    beduffbrickie Posts: 642 Member
    I cant function without a least 8-9hours sleep, 5.5hours is way to low, you must be tired.
  • jegg0425
    jegg0425 Posts: 37
    I've been having difficulty sleeping. I sleep about every other night. Part of that is a very demanding job and also trying to write a graduate thesis. But when I try to relax my mind is racing and I give up on sleep after about 2 hours. Any suggestions?
  • chunk1691
    chunk1691 Posts: 90 Member
    im struggling to sleep at minute because of hot flushes, i struggled with exercise this morning but i did it, lol. x
  • Picola1984
    Picola1984 Posts: 1,133
    I'm terrible at actually going to bed and I'm an early riser, like today woke at 7am on day off

    The bags under my eyes show I'm tired but I'm not getting enough

    Having said that I feel energetic 99% of the time through working out
  • tnrunningnurse
    tnrunningnurse Posts: 549 Member
    I find that I can't go to be earlier than 10pm, if I do I wake up around 2 o3 and can't go back to sleep. So on work nights I get between 5.5 and 6 because I have to get up early for work. If I don't work then I get about 7 to 8. I do think that sleep or lack of does affect weight loss, but my sleep habits are what they are.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    I work nights. Sleep is critical for me. Otherwise I'll over eat to compensate to help me stay awake. I average 6-8 hrs. On a rare occasion I will skip a workout if I am too tired to get my sleep.
  • harebearva
    harebearva Posts: 216 Member
    My work and daily schedule is such that I get up at 3:30am and workout before work. I get around 5-6 hours a night and I function good on that amount. I usually sleep late at least 1 day on the weekend to make up for the week, kinda like a cheat day for sleep. Been doing this for about a year so far. We'll see how long I can keep it up! LOL
  • azjlmar123
    azjlmar123 Posts: 39 Member
    I cant function without a least 8-9hours sleep, 5.5hours is way to low, you must be tired.

    I usually have lots of energy. Wednesday nights are my Fridays so I usually am most tired by this day. I have more energy than normal people - I cant do caffiene or any type of stimulants as that sends me completely over the top - cant even function and do simple things like say a complete sentence without stumbling over my words! :laugh:
  • azjlmar123
    azjlmar123 Posts: 39 Member
    My work and daily schedule is such that I get up at 3:30am and workout before work. I get around 5-6 hours a night and I function good on that amount. I usually sleep late at least 1 day on the weekend to make up for the week, kinda like a cheat day for sleep. Been doing this for about a year so far. We'll see how long I can keep it up! LOL

    I've been doing "cheat" sleep days for almost 3 years now. I tell ya - I really look forward to those nights of 8-10 hours of uninterrupted sleep!
  • hyper_stitch
    hyper_stitch Posts: 180 Member
    This is really interesting and glad to know others have similar sleep patterns.

    I'm physically energetic, I cycle 6 miles each way to work, it's just a real struggle to focus mentally if that makes sense.
  • nmullins81
    nmullins81 Posts: 35 Member
    I haven't tried it, but many of my friends had tried Melatonin and had great success with it. :yawn:
  • warmachinejt
    warmachinejt Posts: 2,162 Member
    Just wondering how much sleep everyone's getting? Do you need more when you're working out?

    I'm feeling tired to the point that I'm struggling to concentrate, I have a young child so I except that sleep can be hard to come by at times.

    I'm probably geting between 5.5 - 6.5 hours a night, I know 8 hours is the recommended but wondered if anyone else does ok with this?

    Thanks :yawn:
    Everyone has different needs, it ranges from around 7 to 11 hours. I have been getting little sleep lately and I feel like crap before working out, and it sucks.
  • kekl
    kekl Posts: 382 Member
    Ohhh man I need so much sleep. 9-10 hours atleast. It's pretty much impossible to get nightly (I have night classes and early EARLY morning classes) so I take a lot of naps and on the weekends I will usually sleep away a day lol.
  • FJMilner
    FJMilner Posts: 407
    I really struggle to get enough sleep....I have no problem getting to sleep, its just staying alseep that's the issue! Not sure what the answer is, but good to know other peeps have same issues
  • Vegetablearian
    Vegetablearian Posts: 148 Member
    I go to sleep when tired and wake up naturally 9 months of the year, 3 months I need an alarm to get me up for work.

    Right now I am going to sleep around 11-12 and getting up at 5-6 naturally, around xmas I was going to sleep at 10 and wanting to sleep until 10 but had an alarm at 7.30 so I could get up for work.

    In the height of summer ill be happy with 4 hours sleep , in the winter id be shattered.
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 544 Member
    When i started tracking my sleep, that is when i noticed that 90% of the time I go off plan is because I've had 2 days in a row with less than 6 hours sleep. I aim for 7. My sleep is very important to me but with 2 young kids it doesn't always happen.

    I don't sleep more when I work out.
  • Tatyanne
    Tatyanne Posts: 471 Member
    Hi all,

    8h is the perfect goal to me...however to work out before going to work i need to wake up at 6am, and it's almost impossible to me to be in bed at 10 pm every day...so usually I sleep 7h/night.
  • akiramezu
    akiramezu Posts: 278
    Usually 6 to 8 hours. I can manage 6 and still workout pretty well. But with 8 hours, i'm super charged!
    If you're having trouble sleeping, try valerian root
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    Running on 15hrs over past 4 nights.


    I function fine if its < 3 hours, otherwise I need at least 9, if not more to funciton.


    I struggle to function on normal sleep hours though, I can sleep 11 hours and still wake up tired.
  • KPainter70
    KPainter70 Posts: 152
    I struggle with sleeping straight through the night, but try to get as close to 8 hours as I can. I also nap during the day when I can. I work from home so some weeks, I might nap as much as 2-4 times.
  • sparklefly74
    sparklefly74 Posts: 40 Member
    I work the midnight shift (luckily only part time...3 nights a week), go to school and I am raising a 9 year old boy. I've gotten into the habit of only being able to sleep 3 or 4 hours at a time, but usually I sleep for 3 or 4 hours, up for 8 or 9, and then sleep again for 3 or 4 hours. So,it's like I have 2 days to everyone else's 1 day, lol. Every once in awhile I will sleep a full 8 hours (like last night) but I'm not sure that it makes that much of a difference to me.

    I only run into real trouble if I've been awake for over 24 hours...that's when the high fat, high sugar, I just don't care eating starts.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    Since starting to work out regularly, I sleep really well most nights. I aim for 8 hours. It used to be that if I only got 7, I could hardly function, but I think that because I sleep so much more deeply now, it's not a big deal if I have a 7 hour night.
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    I find that now that I walk daily I sleep like the dead at night. Except for my baby. He wakes me up every day at 5 am for mommy-food. Then I have a decision to make; wake up early for mommy time or go back to sleep for an hour until my 2 year old wakes up. FML=Sleeping. LOL
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    Your recovery isn't going to be optimal with only 5-6 hours of sleep, so in the long run you might feel a little run down, and need a few days off here and there.
  • rachellosesitall85
    rachellosesitall85 Posts: 497 Member
    They say the body needs at least 6 hours to rest up. I usually get 8+ but that's because I'm a newlywed with no children and I work from home. I do realize that when I eat crappy and don't exercise I actually struggle to fall asleep at night, toss and turn, and I feel like crap when I wake up. Now that I've started exercising again (in the mornings) by 10 pm I'm ready to crash and I actually sleep through the night and have been waking up before 9am which is a big deal from my old 10-12 wake up times lol.
  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    Getting the right amount of sleep is just as important as getting the right amount of exercise.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    I'm pretty good about going to bed early enough that I can get 8 full hours. On weekends, I try to get 9.

    Sleep is critical for recovery and overall health. Don't burn the candle at both ends.
  • zombilishious
    zombilishious Posts: 1,250 Member
    With 3 kids and a heavy snorer next to me at night, I struggle to get enough uninterrupted sleep. I take Melatonin regularly. Sometimes I get to the point I have to take an Ambien on a Friday night just to get 8 hours of straight sleep. I have less endurance at the gym on days I haven't gotten enough sleep.
  • kmillers
    kmillers Posts: 144 Member
    My work and daily schedule is such that I get up at 3:30am and workout before work. I get around 5-6 hours a night and I function good on that amount. I usually sleep late at least 1 day on the weekend to make up for the week, kinda like a cheat day for sleep. Been doing this for about a year so far. We'll see how long I can keep it up! LOL

    ^^^This^^^
    I also get up at between 3:30 and 3:45 am to work out. I am a teacher and a mom of 2 teenagers. I do not have the time or motivation to work out after work so that is the only time I am faithful to my workout. I am usually running kids around until 8-9 pm so by the time I get to bed, get unwound, and go to sleep, I usually get about 5-6 hours a night. However, sometimes I get home from work and crash for the night due to pure exhaustion. Then I am ready to go with my schedule for another 6-8 weeks.
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