Biking on 6 or less hours sleep?

Preston Crawford wrote:
|| Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could
|| somehow be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence
|| to back this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I
|| do it, but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately
|| because my stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do
|| you guys bike on low sleep?
||

Don't invent things to worry about, Preston. If you feel okay while doing
it, then where is the problem?

I've biked on 4 hours of sleep. I normally only get 5 or 6 hours anyway.

Paul R said:

"Preston Crawford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Preston

Sounds like you need less stress!

Going for a bike ride WILL help you reduce stress. Sounds like you NEED to
go riding.

If it feels OK, then trust yourself.

cheers,
Paul

Okay. Thanks.

Preston

Roger Zoul said:

Preston Crawford wrote:
|| Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could
|| somehow be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence
|| to back this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I
|| do it, but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately
|| because my stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do
|| you guys bike on low sleep?
||

Don't invent things to worry about, Preston. If you feel okay while doing
it, then where is the problem?

The problem is when you have anxiety (like I do) you do invent things to
worry about. Especially when work is crazy and your anxiety is at a fever
pitch and you aren't sleeping well. The whole program starts to go
haywire.

Quoted message said:

I've biked on 4 hours of sleep. I normally only get 5 or 6 hours anyway.

Okay. Thanks. That makes me feel a little better.

Preston

"Preston Crawford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Preston

Sounds like you need less stress!

Going for a bike ride WILL help you reduce stress. Sounds like you NEED to
go riding.

If it feels OK, then trust yourself.

cheers,
Paul

Paul R wrote:
|| "Preston Crawford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:[email hidden]...
||| Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could
||| somehow be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence
||| to back this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I
||| do it, but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately
||| because my stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do
||| you guys bike on low sleep?
|||
||| Preston
||
|| Sounds like you need less stress!
||
|| Going for a bike ride WILL help you reduce stress. Sounds like you
|| NEED to go riding.
||
|| If it feels OK, then trust yourself.

I agree 500% with Paul. Biking does wonders to relieve stress. As long as
you feel okay, go for it Preston!
If you don't, take a rest.

Preston Crawford said:

Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Thanks to an Aussie Shepherd that must go out at 4:00 am, the answer
is yes. Cycling is not an activity that seems impacted in attention or
awareness by lack of sleep - other than it probably impacts
performance. Sitting at my desk on a day that my schedule and the
dog's was in serious conflict (like getting home from a Maryland
basketball game at midnight) IS a problem.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Preston Crawford said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow
be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back
this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it,
but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my
stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys
bike on low sleep?

I hate to admit it, but sometimes before "major" group rides I have trouble
getting to sleep. (Worst case was before a 24-hour race up in Monterrey --
NOT the best time to toss and turn all night!)

What someone told me long ago -- before taking the SATs, maybe? -- was to
just try to *REST* as much as possible if you can't get to sleep, as the
body doesn't really know the difference.

Then, get the hell up when the alarm goes off and go have fun. Like others
have pointed out, bike riding is a terrific ANTIDOTE to stress.

Bill "you'll sleep well the /following/ night" S.

Preston Crawford said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

i bike on six hours or less almost every day. 6 hours is my upper limit for
weeknights and 4 my lower if i want to repeat it without crashing for 14
hours. biking with sleep deprivation (which is what you're really asking?)
is probably not a good idea from a safety standpoint.

biking while stressed, tho, usually helps. one of the few things that does.
best to take care of what's stressing you out, tho.
--
david reuteler
[email hidden]

Preston Crawford said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Biking on short sleep is certainly less dangerous than driving on short
sleep. You're far less likely to nod off while pedaling!

Unless you have a heart condition or something, I don't see a physical
danger particularly. You won't perform as well, that's all.

I sometimes get anxious before a planned big ride, and don't sleep well.
Last Friday night in fact, I had that problem. So I rescheduled the
Saturday ride for Sunday, and did a short ride on Saturday instead.

Dave

Quoted message said:

Subject: Biking on 6 or less hours sleep?
From: Preston Crawford [email hidden]
Date: 10/5/2004 10:16 AM US Eastern Standard Time
Message-id: <[email hidden]>

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Preston

I wouldn't let it keep me up at night.

"Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Preston Crawford said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow
be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back
this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it,
but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my
stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys
bike on low sleep?

I hate to admit it, but sometimes before "major" group rides I have

trouble

Quoted message said:

getting to sleep. (Worst case was before a 24-hour race up in

Monterrey --

Quoted message said:

NOT the best time to toss and turn all night!)

I have had a lousy sleep before each and every STP. I always feel like an
idiot -- here I am, off to pedal 200 miles, and it's 2:30 AM, and I know I
have to be up in less than 2 hours, and I can't get back to sleep. Argh!

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:
|| "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:[email hidden]...
||| Preston Crawford wrote:
|||| Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could
|||| somehow be *dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence
|||| to back this up, it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when
|||| I do it, but I still worry. It's become more of a problem lately
|||| because my stress is up at my new job and I'm not sleeping well.
|||| Do you guys bike on low sleep?
|||
||| I hate to admit it, but sometimes before "major" group rides I have
||| trouble getting to sleep. (Worst case was before a 24-hour race up
||| in Monterrey -- NOT the best time to toss and turn all night!)
||
|| I have had a lousy sleep before each and every STP. I always feel
|| like an idiot -- here I am, off to pedal 200 miles, and it's 2:30
|| AM, and I know I have to be up in less than 2 hours, and I can't get
|| back to sleep. Argh!

I'm happy to know that I'm not hte only one who gets anxious the night
before a long ride and can't sleep.

take a freezing cold shower, it will make your body release
adrenaline, and for the next couple hours you will be able to set
personal records. If you don't believe me, try it.

"Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Claire Petersky wrote:
|| "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
|| news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

||| I hate to admit it, but sometimes before "major" group rides I have
||| trouble getting to sleep. (Worst case was before a 24-hour race up
||| in Monterrey -- NOT the best time to toss and turn all night!)
||
|| I have had a lousy sleep before each and every STP. I always feel
|| like an idiot -- here I am, off to pedal 200 miles, and it's 2:30
|| AM, and I know I have to be up in less than 2 hours, and I can't get
|| back to sleep. Argh!

I'm happy to know that I'm not hte only one who gets anxious the night
before a long ride and can't sleep.

If it's an I've done a number of times, then I lie in bed and review the
route over and over again in my mind. If it's one I haven't done before,
then it's the fear of the unknown. Either way, I dart back to the notion
that I'm going to have a long day (or two) ahead, and I REALLY NEED MY SLEEP
dammit. Somehow, though, trying to force my mind -- my body is usually
plenty tired --to relax, doesn't work. Funny how that is, isn't it?

Jim Carson, on his blog (see here:
http://www.jimcarson.com/archives/000261.shtml) reports a similar
phenonmenon, waking at 2:00 before STP, and deciding not to go back to bed.

I think the restless night before a big event is probably more the rule than
the exception.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Subject: Biking on 6 or less hours sleep?

Let's see: you get anxious about riding on too little sleep, so you
sleep less (or less restfully); you then go riding to relieve the
stress and anxiety of not geteing enough sleep; you then grow more
anxious about riding with too little sleep.... How do you get off that
merry-go-round???? --Roy Zipris

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I hate to admit it, but sometimes before "major" group rides I have

trouble

Quoted message said:

getting to sleep. (Worst case was before a 24-hour race up in

Monterrey --

Quoted message said:

NOT the best time to toss and turn all night!)

I have had a lousy sleep before each and every STP. I always feel like an
idiot -- here I am, off to pedal 200 miles, and it's 2:30 AM, and I know

I

Quoted message said:

have to be up in less than 2 hours, and I can't get back to sleep. Argh!

I've done a lot of long distance rides and know the problem well. A couple
of things I do: first, I do all my bike prep & packing a day or 2 in
advance so I don't lie in bed going over preparations; second: I take a
couple of those over-the-counter tablets with antihistamine (Tylenol PM,
etc.).

Peter Cole said:

I've done a lot of long distance rides and know the problem well. A couple
of things I do: first, I do all my bike prep & packing a day or 2 in
advance so I don't lie in bed going over preparations; second: I take a
couple of those over-the-counter tablets with antihistamine (Tylenol PM,
etc.).

Hi, for anyone who hasn't taken any of the Tylenol PM type of
sleeping aids, be sure to try these, a few times, on days when being
alert and wide awake are not absolutely necessary.

I have found when I take these types of sleep aids, I often feel like
a zombie the next day. They seem to effect everyone a little
differently, so proceed with caution.

Life is Good!
Jeff

"Roy Zipris" wrote: (clip) How do you get off that merry-go-round????
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The best way is to repeat the experience as often as possible. It's called
"desensitization."

Preston Crawford <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Because of my anxiety I'm often worried that doing this could somehow be
*dangerous*. I have no empirical or scientific evidence to back this up,
it just doesn't feel healthy. It feels good when I do it, but I still
worry. It's become more of a problem lately because my stress is up at my
new job and I'm not sleeping well. Do you guys bike on low sleep?

Preston

According to Stanley Coren, a sleep researcher at Univ of British
Columbia, most people should get more sleep, perhaps up to 9 hours a
night but I doubbt that riding with 6 hours of sleep is dangerous
unless you are seriously sleep deprived, that is, several days of
poor sleep. Oh, and you probably should not ride between 02:00 and
04:00 hours if sleep deprived. 🙂

I find cycling reduces stress so you are probably better off even if
riding when you are a bit short of sleep.

John Kane