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Can't sleep after a run
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on top of all the great comments above, I have been told the following by insomnia specialists
- avoid exercise at least 3 hours before bed
- ditto heavy food
- no caffeine from about 3pm onwards (if you have a problem with sleeping)
- if you can't sleep, get out of bed. go and do something not too stimulating mentally or physically (eg reading a book) in another room until you feel sleepy and then go back to bed.
- your bedroom should be about sleep (within reason
I've predominantly trained at nights and only ever get anything bordering on insomnia the night before a race when I inevitably wake up every 5 minutes thinking I've overslept.
I sympathise with the insomniacs, but am someone who always feels could do with another couple of hours kip at least, and the running exacerbates this. I have recently had problems getting back from a race cos I was so tired I could hardly stay awake to drive home. I really need to end this here as even talking about sleep does it for me - sorry.
In moderation of course.
You'll soon drop off!!
I run early evening - 5pm - so after tea and watching TV I'm ready for an early night . I prefer though longer lie ins - so running on weekends away or holidays is always better for me and the legs as I seem more recovered.
The main thing is not to eat too much and relax - if you stress over not getting to sleep - the chances are you wont!
After about a year of this i discovered a gym right next door to where i work.For convienience i started running at 1,2pm straight from work,i would stay up for the rest of the day and go to sleep at 10pm and sleep like a log.I lost 1.5 stone in weight and went from a 4.30 marathon to 3.30 almost over night.
A couple of times a year i do the odd local race that starts at 8pm friday and get about a hours sleep.I keep contact with the running club by coaching the juniors but never run in the evening.I do not no your work pattern but maybe before work or lunch time will help.I manage and work sixty hours a week.
Milk and bananas provide a good source of the amino acid tryptophan which is converted into melatonin, as well as calcium and magnesium which can be helpful for some insomniacs.
A tablespoon of honey just before retiring will promote a steady release of glucose from your liver during the night. You need this for growth and repair to take place during the night. Don't forget your brain doesn't switch off during the night- EEG recording show much brain activity during dreams and non rapid eye movement sleep. Therefore, do stoke up your glycogen levels.
My advice is to run early on in the day if you can. If you must run in the evening, cool down properly afterwards. A warm bath (add lavender oil to the water) will help as it will promote sweating and vasodilation of blood vessels in the skin.
Follow up with a banana milk smoothie and honey.
Good luck!
but i must admit i thought there would be more
jack daniels
southern comfort
etc type of answers.....
as in most of these forums....
what no one suggesting a case of fosters...
what about another run...say at ..11.30pm..
or how about a big bag of chips..
they always seem to make you sleep heavy
I too lately suffer from disrupted sleep..
but as yet I havnt found an answer for it...
although I do know what causes it.....
my wife has just been diagnosed with brain cancer and 18 months to live...
thats the cause.....
just not sure how to cure it????
having kids with this doesnt help....
I find anxiety can at the heart of many sleep problems especially if you have a race or long training run to complete but was heartened to read somewhere that the requirement to sleep 8 hours a night is a bit of a myth and that 6.5 hours is generally about right.
Anyway I'm now experimenting with ear plugs, which I am not keen on but will try and persevere with.
Jack Daniels....MMMMmmmm. :-)
Alcohol isn't a good solution. Yes, as a nightcap, it can make you fall asleep but it suppresses dreaming sleep in the first half of the night and then rebounds strongly causing vivid dreams and lighter sleep overall.
Andy F is partially correct that it is a myth that you must have 8 hours sleep a night.
Everyone varies in their sleep requirements. Some adults are short sleepers(5-6 hours) and others are long sleepers(9-10)hours.Even so research has shown that sleep requirements vary throughout the lifespan. Babies sleep the longest at 16 hours, young toddlers about 12 hours, children and teens about 8-9 hours. The elderly tend to sleep less than they did as young adults and may sleep in 2 phases, first at night and then with a nap in mid-afternoon.
Anxiety IS a major factor in insomnia. Winston Churchill, at the height of the 2nd WW, apparently would say before turning off his bedside light, "B****r them all" and then fall asleep. So relax and let sleep come. You can't force sleep, so don't bother trying to sleep.
Hope this helps.
This just relaxes me and helps me drift off pretty easily.
This could be utter tosh but it sometimes helps me drop off if I manage to convince myself it's true when lying there at 3 in the morning! It takes away the anxieties of the consequences of not sleeping.
It's best after a night of no sleep to not dwell on it at all. Resist saying anything to anyone and trick your body in to thinking you're wide awake! I'm speaking from immediate experience-I only got 3 hours last night!
Oh God I sound like a psycho....
Some new sleep tips-
I have discovered this great tea which has worked really well for me. It's called Valerian Plus and it's available in most good health food shops. It's made by a company called Dr Stuarts. Valerian is a herb often used in herbal sleeping tablets. It takes some getting used to the smell but believe me, it's worth it!
The other thing is to block out all light at night time. Put a blanket up over your curtains or better still by a black out blind. I know this is difficult when it's hot but if you can manage it's worth it. I've found this combined with the tea had me snoozing all night!
Hope it helps!