Exercise-induced insomnia

[Catrin]

Having pretty significant problems with this right now as I am ramping up the intensity of my training both on and off the bike. Am listening to my trainer - he knows my tendency to push overly hard - so I don't think that is the problem.

The problem is that I have to rise at 4am to get ready for work. I have long hours in the office so the only time I can really exercise during the week is a little later than I should be exercising. Have been on this schedule for almost a year, but the intensity has changed greatly over the year.

My body will adjust, and I am making certain that I have two rest days a week so I get good sleep on those nights at least. Am trying not to have caffeine of any kind after 1pm - is there anything else that would be helpful? I am actually not overly tired so am not overly concerned right now - just ready for my body to adjust already ;)

I have tried chamomile teas in the past for this and did not find it helpful. It doesn't help that I can hear every step that my upstairs neighbor makes, and she comes home about the time that I am trying to sleep, and she stays up until almost time for my alarm to go off. She isn't doing anything wrong, it isn't her fault that the floor creaks...

[artifactos]

I have heard from many people that taking a magnesium supplement helps a lot with being able to fall asleep.

I tend to stay awake due to sounds a lot, too, and it got to the point where I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in over a month. I started wearing earplugs to bed again (yes, I can still hear my alarm clock and the smoke alarm) and I'm sleeping a lot better. You might want to try it?

[Catrin]

I have heard from many people that taking a magnesium supplement helps a lot with being able to fall asleep.

I tend to stay awake due to sounds a lot, too, and it got to the point where I hadn't had a decent night's sleep in over a month. I started wearing earplugs to bed again (yes, I can still hear my alarm clock and the smoke alarm) and I'm sleeping a lot better. You might want to try it?

hmmm and you can still hear the alarm? I hate things inside my ears, but I need to do something different. Tried turning on the fan and that didn't help. Will also check out the magnesium supplement - and it seems to me that others have said here that it is good for cyclists anyway?

[rubywagon]

Melatonin might help you.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The problem is that I have to rise at 4am to get ready for work.
.....Am trying not to have caffeine of any kind after 1pm...

This is a helpful page, read the part especially about caffeine:
http://www.sleepwarrior.com/what-are-the-causes-of-insomnia
Caffeine can take a long time to completely leave your system. I've had days where I had a coffee at 4pm, gone to bed at 10pm, and not been able to get to sleep because of the residual caffeine, even though I didn't 'feel' any caffeine jitters anymore. Try eliminating any caffeine except for your first dose when you get out of bed.

[tulip]

I drink my tea, occasionally coffee, in the morning. One cup. Yoga before bed works for me. I have to have some quiet time-- I can't just go go go and then fall asleep.

I've also noticed that turning my computer off at 7 pm works wonders. I don't have a tv, so I read books, groom my dog, or just think about my day.

[Catrin]

This is a helpful page, read the part especially about caffeine:
http://www.sleepwarrior.com/what-are-the-causes-of-insomnia
Caffeine can take a long time to completely leave your system. I've had days where I had a coffee at 4pm, gone to bed at 10pm, and not been able to get to sleep because of the residual caffeine, even though I didn't 'feel' any caffeine jitters anymore. Try eliminating any caffeine except for your first dose when you get out of bed.

This is helpful - and was also reading on a few pages about magnesium's role in sleeping. It seems a good thing to try - just have my early morning tea or coffee, then try a magnesium supplement at night. Even when I get to sleep I can't stay that way right now - and the supplement may help with that.

Tulip - I hear you, and that is probably part of the problem as well. I am active from the moment my feet hit the ground until bed time.... I do have a tv, but very few channels and it is off most of the time.

Stopping exercise/training would solve it - but that is not an option :eek: I found this page (http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/Sleep/sleep_ins_nutrition.htm) that deals with different nutritional options for insomnia. I found other pages as well, but they were all from the manufacturers of the supplement.

Tulip - good reminder - I do tend to be active from the minute my hand finally turns the alarm off rather than hitting the snooze button yet another time :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Even when I get to sleep I can't stay that way right now...

This sounds VERY familiar to me on days when I have that afternoon cup of coffee. Even when I can get to sleep, it seems to make my sleep very light and I keep waking up too easily- I can't get deeply asleep. It took me YEARS to recognize that this was due to having some caffeine a little too late in the afternoon. Now I know that I need about 10 hours after the caffeine for it not to affect my sleep at all. Your mileage may vary.
Your description really rings a bell with me on the subtle lingering effects of caffeine. Been there done that. I hope that's the answer for you, since it's pretty easily solved. :)

[7rider]

Chronic insomniac here.
Runs in the family. :rolleyes:
I also eliminate caffeine after 2 p.m. Sugar, too, if I can. Also, no water or other drinks after 8 p.m.
I'm okay at FALLING asleep. It's the STAYING asleep that eludes me.
Melatonin helps. But if you have thyroid issues, I've read recommendations against it. I take thyroid meds, so I limit the melatonin I take to days when I feel the situation will be desperate.
Since I can't kick DH out of bed, earplugs are a given for me. Or rather...one. I sleep on my right side, so I get by with a plug in my left ear only.
A big glass of water helps when I'm twiddling my thumbs at 3 a.m. But that can create wake-up issues of its own. ;)

[ny biker]

White noise machine. Works great. I can still hear some floor creaks when my upstairs neighbor is walking around, but not nearly as much as I used to. My bedroom window overlooks the parking lot for our condo courtyard but I don't hear any car noises. I am still able to hear my alarm clock and also the cell phone on my nightstand if it rings.

The one I have is a small clock radio/cd player that also makes a few different nature sounds. The babbling brook and ocean are nice, but the volume is not consistent so they don't work to mask neighbor noises. But there is a rain option that is very much like a constant static noise.

I know some people just use a fan, but the white noise machine is louder and therefore works better for me.

I also have insulated drapes in my bedroom that block almost all light from coming in, if that is an issue. I got them at Target -- I think the brand was Eclipse.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yeah I used to have a great 'sleep noise' machine when I lived in an apt right near the railroad crossing. :eek:
Worked great, and I could adjust the volume (unlike a fan) and cue in crickets, wind, surf, rain, owls, doves, tree frogs..... :p I loved it, and it sure beat listening to screaming train whistles.

[GLC1968]

The one I have is a small clock radio/cd player that also makes a few different nature sounds. The babbling brook and ocean are nice, but the volume is not consistent so they don't work to mask neighbor noises. But there is a rain option that is very much like a constant static noise.


I use this too and LOVE the rain setting. It's a life saver for me because I go to bed earlier than my husband during the week and he likes to wind down by watching TV (in the other room, but our house is small and not even slightly sound proof). This thing drowns out the TV and the bonus is that it also drowns out the coyotes so that the dogs don't hear them. Another plus!

Our window fan also works for me, but it's huge and directly over my head so it's quite loud. We can't use it every night though because even in the summer, it's sometimes too cold outside (like last night).

I'm a terrible sleeper and I can't get over how much better I am doing with this sound machine. Why it took me 42 years to try it is beyond me. :rolleyes:

[Catrin]

My alarm clock has something like 17 "nature sounds" to use like this. I haven't found it helpful in the past to cover up the walking sounds from upstairs - but I also have not tried the white noise option. Will try it tonight. The fan doesn't help at all.

I am preparing to have a little chocolate milk - relax with a nice mystery - and try to wind down a little before - hopefully - going to sleep. I appreciate all of the advice... will likely also try the magnesium - sometimes I "almost" have leg cramps at night so that would help that as well, I am sure.

[trista]

+1 for melatonin. Also, make sure your room is cool. Reading in bed helps me... Like you said, that "downtime" before going to sleep really helps. I also like to have something to eat right before bed - a stick of string cheese seems to help me fall asleep. I also think Sleepytime tea can help with that wind-down period.

[OakLeaf]

Reading in bed has the opposite effect on me. One of the cardinal rules of sleep hygiene is to use your bed for nothing but sleep and sex.

[Blueberry]

I am preparing to have a little chocolate milk - relax with a nice mystery - and try to wind down a little before - hopefully - going to sleep. I appreciate all of the advice... will likely also try the magnesium - sometimes I "almost" have leg cramps at night so that would help that as well, I am sure.

Careful with the Chocolate Milk - Chocolate has caffeine in it. Maybe milk and honey? I've done that before (though I prefer my own "knock off" of Aveda's comfort tea...)

[Catrin]

Careful with the Chocolate Milk - Chocolate has caffeine in it. Maybe milk and honey? I've done that before (though I prefer my own "knock off" of Aveda's comfort tea...)


Really? Of course, chocolate has caffeine - duh! It is my treat after riding - though I think that choc. milk is a good reward for many things :)

I DID sleep last night - but I also was able to ride earlier than normal and stopped about the time I usually start... Tonight I just meet with my trainer, it is a rest day from riding so I should be able to sleep 2 nights in a row :D

[Crankin]

Catrin, I have had the exercise induced insomnia you described... I used to exercise almost exclusively at 5 AM. I couldn't even take a walk after 3 PM without it affecting me. Basically, I have trained my body slowly, to be able to deal with it. I still get up fairly early (5-6 AM) most days, but the exercise doesn't seem to keep me up as much. I mostly exercise in the morning/early afternoon, but I can ride at 5-6 PM and I can get to sleep, if it's not a really hard ride. It took a long time.
I'm a lot like Bleeker, in that I have had to reduce my caffeine intake to just the morning. I love having coffee around 3 PM (funny, the time I would leave work for all of those years), but I pay for it. I can't even have decaf after dinner, when we go out, so I drink herbal tea. Boring. Coffee is my one vice, so I don't like this.

[OakLeaf]

If you like a hot beverage at bedtime, some of the richer roasted teas are nice - Roastaroma, Vanilla Hazelnut, Almond Sunset, various flavors of Teecino.

They don't have any active sleep-inducing ingredients, unlike Sleepytime, but I really enjoy the flavors. Personally, I just cannot abide the taste of Sleepytime, and anyway I'm not sure how much the spearmint in that (which is a stimulant, though not nearly as strong as peppermint) offsets the effects of the chamomile and linden (tilia).

[tulip]

Valerian tea will knock you out, if you can stand the taste, that is.

Have you tried yoga? The final relaxation is really powerful. You might want to check it out.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I really like nettle tea, though at first I thought I wouldn't like it since it tastes a bit like hay or something. now I really like it though, it grew on me. Supposed to have lots of good nutrients. Iced or hot. :D

[Catrin]

Nettles do have good medicinal qualities, especially for women.

I will check out the various teas - I do love tea - but the kind I prefer has caffeine :)

As far as Yoga is concerned, I don't know much about it. They do have Yoga classes at my gym, but there is extra cost to take it. Between my dues and personal trainer I give them enough money as it is :o At some point, however, I would like to try it.

[NbyNW]

I've been trying out this computer app called f.lux (http://www.stereopsis.com/flux/) that adapts your display for evening use. I think the idea is that it reduces the visual stimuli that keeps you up.

I haven't decided yet if it's effective or if I like the visual effects, but it might be worth a try.

[arielmoon]

I have to have white noise of some kind. Normally that is my ceiling fan. I also use earplugs so I dont hear my roommate when he comes in at night.

[Veronica]

As far as Yoga is concerned, I don't know much about it. They do have Yoga classes at my gym, but there is extra cost to take it. Between my dues and personal trainer I give them enough money as it is :o At some point, however, I would like to try it.

Yoga DVDs! I like Rodney Yee and The Yoga for Triathletes series.

I often have trouble sleeping because my brain won't shut up. Final relaxation pose often solves that problem for me. I used it to get into my own personal space on my last flight (woman sitting next to me was large, had on too much perfume...) I actually fell asleep. Totally unlike me, unless it's a red eye.

Veronica

[Crankin]

I concur with the yoga. I started with the yoga that was part of the Cyclo-Core DVD program and when I finally went to a class at the gym, I didn't feel like a dunce. I did that for about 2 years. I quit my gym last year and have been using 3-4 different DVDs at home, although last summer I took a 1.5 hour yoga/meditation class for 12 weeks (a luxury). I only practice once a week probably, and I know I should do more. Not only does it help with core strength and helping with my various chronic injury things, it really helps my mental health. In fact, I prescribe yoga just as much as any other treatment with my clients. Most people in the US are not aware that yoga is actually a whole system of psychology, not just an exercise process.

[Catrin]

Yoga DVDs! I like Rodney Yee and The Yoga for Triathletes series.

I often have trouble sleeping because my brain won't shut up.......

Veronica

This is me as well.... I will see what the library has before I buy anything. For some reason I just didn't think about a DVD!

[badger]

magnesium really does help with sleep (for me, anyways). I used to just take magnesium, but now I have cal/mag wafers that I nibble on after dinner. A couple of hours later, I start getting really tired and find I sleep very well. Note on magnesium: there are different types, I believe the citrate kind can upset your stomach. My first go at cal/mag liquid left my insides liquid!!

I also like to have sensory deprivation when I sleep, so I'll have an ear plug (yes, one, as I sleep on my side so just in the ear that isn't against the pillow), and if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night, I often put eye shades on, too. Makes me fall back asleep faster.

[OakLeaf]

Then there's the whole dinner at 9:30 thing that goes along with an evening ride. That sure doesn't help me sleep.

Eyeshades (and heavy drapes) are a double-edged sword. They keep it nice and dark as your body needs it for sleeping, but they also deprive you of the morning light that you need to be able to wake up refreshed. If there's a streetlight that shines right into your bedroom window, some municipalities will paint the lens out if you call them. That might not be enough though, since ambient light will still get in your window.

[rocknrollgirl]

I have had insomnia for years. I use valarian drops. I get them at the health food store. They are usually behind the counter. They work great with no effects.

Also +1 on the noise machine. I use a fan, it works well for me.

[mamani]

I have severe case of excercise induced insomnia but recently right after my workout I try a 10-15 minutes dry saunna which has solved 99% of this problem!