Can't sleep at night

bryanquinn

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone else has trouble sleeping at night after cycling during the day.
Even if I ride in the morning it seems as if my body is too revved up at night to get to sleep. I can lay awake all night unable to drift off. It finally gets to the point that I have to take an antihistamine get to sleep.
Of course I feel like crap the next day.
I don't drink coffee so I know it's not that.
Am I working out too hard?
Yesterday I rode 27mi at a HRA of 162. My max is around 194. I am coming back after a broken ishium so maybe my fitness is not what it should be?
I was off the bike totally for 6 weeks and have been increasing my riding slowly since.
Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated.

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Felt_Rider

I use Valerian Root supplement every evening.
May or may not work for you, but with it being inexpensive at Walmart it will not cost you a lot to try it. I take 3 capsules about 30 minutes before bedtime. I have not noticed any negative side effects like feeling groggy the next morning like some sleep aides.

Melatonin does not work well with me. It helps me get to sleep, but I seem to wake up early and feel wide awake after a couple of hours, which I have read that reaction occurs with others as well.

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tonyzackery

I have this problem from time to time as well and for me it has to do with dehydration. If I'm dehydrated I will have sleep issues. My suggestion is to hydrate well after your ride.

bryanquinn

Hi Felt rider, I took Valerian root last night, but alas, sleep was not forth coming. Thats when I went to my last ditch problem solver and took the anti histamine.

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If you haven't tried these things, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.
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bryanquinn

Hi Tony,
I thought about the possible dehydration possibility just a few hours ago. I think you may have hit upon something there. Thinking back after my ride I didn't drink a lot of water. I'm going to try and hydrate as much as possible today and keep a close eye on that.
I feel kind of off balance and light headed today but I'm thinking it could be from not getting enough sleep last night.

Thanks for your responses.

__________________
If you haven't tried these things, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.
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spinner32

I had this last year for a while. It got pretty bad actually, but after talking with my coach and a doctor, the diagnosis was overtraining and a related mild depression. It's amazing, but after taking some time off, and really resting (which won't come naturally if you are used to training hard), I was able to sleep like a baby. Remove the stress from your life a bit. Some doctors have hypothesized that when you are under emotional stress, as well as physical stress from training, that you can overwhelm your adrenal gland. As I was told, this causes an up-regulation in the systems which stimulate the adrenal gland. As such, at times when you would normally be at rest, you may become restless, and sleepless, despite an otherwise exhuasted state of being.

Try taking some time off. I didn't have much luck with Valerian, and melatonin can mess with your natural sleep cycle if taken regularly. Allow your body to re-regulate itself. It may take time, but just relax, and lay in bed. Keep the bed for sleep, and sex only. Also, don't worry about "not being able to sleep." You will sleep, even if it isn't much at first. Just lay low for a while and rest. Good luck.

bubsy

Spinner your experiance is almost identical to mine last year, all of what you described above was what l went through, and low iron ferritin levels once we checked those and found l was low but not clinically anemic (hemocrit in correct range just) so buy backing off for a while and getting my bloods checked regularly l am now getting on top of things sleep wise. To the OP you are not alone with your sleeping dissorder many athletes experiance this from time to time and your body is telling you something is out of whack, it can be any number of things from hormone or thyroid imbalance low iron ferritin levals or a number of much simpler things for some people like dehydration too much caffine etc, if your problem continues l suggest a full blood examination, in fact all athletes should have these done at least once a year. Let us know how you get on down the track. Good luck!

Brian.

spinner32

This is amazing to hear. +1 on the bloodwork - especially a CBC with ferritin and T4 reflex. My ferritin was also low, and I was borderline anemic. It is interesting to hear of somebody else with such a similar experience, and I'll wager that there are many athletes who go through this at some point..

I'll add that there can be a large psychological barrier to taking time off, but it is absolutely necessary to do. Sleep, nutrition, and de-stressing your life will do wonders for your riding.

Thanks to bubsy, and good luck to the OP!

benkoostra

Melatonin? I take 12mg most nights, and stretch before lying down.

Albert 50

I almost always sleep better at night after riding. Even if it only several hours afterward. When I have some days off by the second night I can start having problems nodding off or waking during the night.