Too hyper to sleep!

[staceysue]

UGH! Once again, I can't sleep the night after a really good bike ride. I rode early in the afternoon deliberately, hoping to avoid this problem. I'm just too hyper. It's 5:15 am and I finally gave up and took some benadryl.

Anybody else with this problem? Any suggestions?

If you're up, too, and you're bored and you want to see the first cycling outfit I'm going to get (and I'm soooooooo excited about), here it is! All I have to wear now is cycling shorts under XC ski clothes - which works out great in cooler weather but it might get warm for at least a few days this summer ;)

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodMB_10KNSK.html

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSM_2742_0.html

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSM_2230_1.html

it even has matching arm warmers! http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSM_2100_13.html

[Trek-chick]

I LOVE that cycle skort w/knickers.....Now that you showed me....I have to have one too. That is so cute. :D and it's made in the USA!!!

[Bike Chick]

Cute, Stacey Sue. I really like the jersey with matching ear and arm warmers.

Hey, whatever happened to your creepy neighbor? Since you are still riding I assume you found a solution to your problem.

[runningteach]

Cute! I love that skirt/knicker combo.

[staceysue]

Everybody loves the clothes but nobody has the solution to the insomnia! Doesn't anybody else have this problem? HUGE adrenaline rushes from riding?

Thanks for asking about the creepy neighbor - I posted an update on the other thread about him. I asked around and it turns out there are two guys who look very much alike. A lot of people get them confused, and so did I. The guy who was following me is a mildly mentally handicapped fellow with very poor social skills, but he is not in any way dangerous. He's very large and strong and scary-looking, but he's not the mean guy others have had so many problems with. I guess this one lives down a side road in a home I've never even noticed. A woman who knows this guy said that the next time he follows me I should stop and talk to him and nicely tell him that it is not appropriate to follow closely behind a lady on a bicycle when you're riding your 4-wheeler, and he'll stop. I asked her if she might be willing to mention it to him if she sees him, so she might have said something to him. I haven't seen him at all this year.

[staceysue]

I LOVE that cycle skort w/knickers.....Now that you showed me....I have to have one too. That is so cute. :D and it's made in the USA!!!

It's so perfect! I can't think of anything I'd rather wear. If I had nicer legs I'd wear a skort without knickers but this is perfect while I'm working on sculpting them into perfection hehe

[redrhodie]

Everybody loves the clothes but nobody has the solution to the insomnia! Doesn't anybody else have this problem? HUGE adrenaline rushes from riding?


I don't get insomnia from cycling, but I did get it from the adrenaline rush from rock climbing when I used to do that. I consulted a doc, and she said when I can't sleep, get up and do something boring, like read (nothing too stimulating) or light cleaning (dusting, not vacuuming). Don't stay in bed waiting to get tired. Make bedtime routine, at the same time every night, drink hot milk, and take a hot bath right before. Don't watch tv in the bedroom. Don't eat in the bedroom. Keep the bedroom just for sleeping.

I'd also try moving your ride time earlier, like 5 am maybe ;)? Or, make your ride less exciting. Don't go all out, remember to breathe fully, spin, and keep reminding yourself to relax. I ride that way a lot for my evening commute.

[chicagogal]

I have the opposite problem. . . Get home from a long, hard, exhilarating ride thinking I am going to a) clean the house b) buy groceries c) prepare dinner d) go out with friends. e) well, you get the picture . . .
Instead I put my head on the pillow or lay on the sofa and I'm out cold from exhaustion, waking up in time to find that the day has been shot (again) and I only have time to throw in a load of laundry so that I have something to wear on tomorrow's ride . . .

[shootingstar]

Maybe stacy..you need to give yourself a couple of weeks since you returned to cycling regularily after winter.

Getting into a calming pre-sleeping routine is a good thing. Some simple, slow stretching and calming yoga exercises is good. Keep it simple, just 15 min. or less. Integrated would be simple breathing exercises with eyes closed.

But do it outside of the bedroom. Then later go to bed.

I get adrenaline rushes after consecutive days of long bike touring during a multi-day ride. But usually after a nice shower post-long ride, I get sleepy... :p

[tzvia]

staceysue-
I don't have an issue with sleeping after cycling, but if I'm wound up over something but need to get to sleep, I stretch a few minutes, have some warm milk, a calcium pill, and a teaspoon of honey. Talk about being knocked out! That combo always relaxes me and I fall asleep. I never use anything stronger.

[WindingRoad]

Oh hell yeah I have the insomnia problem too! Long rides jack me up at night, I have yet to figure out why??? It doesn't matter what time of the day, I think my body just gets so ramped up and the longer the ride the worse it is. I try to take some Melatonin (about 6 micrograms, usually 2 pills) before I go to bed those days. The Melatonin gives me vivid dreams sometimes but it's worth it just to get the sleep.

AND I LOVE the earwarmers! That's a great idea then you can hide your helmet hair when you get there! Genius!!!! :D

[staceysue]

Thank you so much for the suggestions, everybody!

The one great thing about the adrenaline rush is that if I go before work, I'm full of energy all evening at work.

Somebody suggested not going full-out and that's something I've been wondering about. I don't know if this is the best thread to bring it up in, but here goes. I don't know exactly how hard I should be riding in order to improve quickly. When I ride, I try to spend all of my time in the saddle breathing relatively hard. Sometimes I do short intense intervals, other times I try to maintain a steady pace, but if get to the point where I could speak more than 3-4 words at a time, I pick up the pace. I never go full-out 100%, though, which I suppose I should do sometimes. I worry about getting a cramp or falling or something.

I've read on here that you're supposed to do recovery rides. How fast do you go on a recovery ride and how does your body feel on one? I tried to do one yesterday but felt guilty because I wasn't breathing hard so, after about 10 minutes, I picked up the pace again.

I truly appreciate everybody's sleep suggestions and I'm just going to start trying everything until something works for me! Thank you so much!

And yes - I HAVE to have that head band. Next paycheck I'll get the skort and the headband, then the check after that I'll get the jersey!

[sundial]

Doesn't anybody else have this problem? HUGE adrenaline rushes from riding?


I would say that it's your elevated heart rate and it may not have dropped to levels that's conducive for sleep.

[chicagogal]

Thank you so much for the suggestions, everybody!

The one great thing about the adrenaline rush is that if I go before work, I'm full of energy all evening at work.

Somebody suggested not going full-out and that's something I've been wondering about. I don't know if this is the best thread to bring it up in, but here goes. I don't know exactly how hard I should be riding in order to improve quickly. When I ride, I try to spend all of my time in the saddle breathing relatively hard. Sometimes I do short intense intervals, other times I try to maintain a steady pace, but if get to the point where I could speak more than 3-4 words at a time, I pick up the pace. I never go full-out 100%, though, which I suppose I should do sometimes. I worry about getting a cramp or falling or something.

I've read on here that you're supposed to do recovery rides. How fast do you go on a recovery ride and how does your body feel on one? I tried to do one yesterday but felt guilty because I wasn't breathing hard so, after about 10 minutes, I picked up the pace again.

I truly appreciate everybody's sleep suggestions and I'm just going to start trying everything until something works for me! Thank you so much!

And yes - I HAVE to have that head band. Next paycheck I'll get the skort and the headband, then the check after that I'll get the jersey!

Recovery rides are hard for me to get just right too. They should be easy - conversational pace. Try not to feel guilty if you feel like you aren't working, because you aren't supposed to be working. That's what makes it recovery. I often bring a friend of lesser fitness for my recovery rides, or I ride with my coach/mentor who is on the same training as schedule as me, and keeps us both honest on our recovery rides.

At the end of your recovery ride you should feel like a kid again, where cycling is "just for fun" and not about work/training. Last week we rode in the dark for our recovery ride, exploring roads we often train on during the day, and experiencing them in a much different way. It was fun!!!

[staceysue]

Riding in the dark sounds like fun! Maybe I could bring the hubby and we could see some wildlife.

[OakLeaf]

Hahaha, been so long since I'd been on an evening ride I forgot about this one. :o

Yeah, me too. Didn't get to sleep until past 11 last night, even though the ride was over by 8. If you read about sleep hygiene, one of the things they always tell you is not to work out at night. Well... if you want to ride a bicycle outside during the week and you work during the day, or ride with people who do, not much choice.

I'm with you on the other part, too. It was supposed to be a recovery ride, but the ride leader had come up with a fairly ambitious distance for the amount of daylight we have this time of year. The four slower riders turned around within 10 miles, realizing they wouldn't get in before dark if they finished the route. The rest of us stayed together - didn't exactly hammer, but it was definitely a harder pace than I was planning on.

Ah well. This won't kill my taper, but it's definitely given me a clearer picture that the threat to my taper is cycling, not running. :rolleyes:

[staceysue]

LOL Oak Leaf! I could never even consider exercise that late and expect to sleep.

[malkin]

Sometimes if I can't sleep, I'll get up and have a stretch and then go back to bed and turn on the BBC.

If that doesn't put me out then it's time to fire up the Alan Watts tapes.

If Alan Watts doesn't put me out, probably nothing short of general anesthesia will, so I'll just listen and relax and be ok with that.

Otherwise, I follow my gramma's rule:
If you can't sleep, get up.
If you can't stay awake, go to bed.

[Ritamarie]

Otherwise, I follow my gramma's rule:
If you can't sleep, get up.
If you can't stay awake, go to bed.

Love that! I'm a terrible sleeper too. Honestly, I wish I could get by with 2 hours sleep a night!