Rest, recovery, sleep

aweber

I'm having problems with my sleep after a late afternoon or evening ride or workout. I try to eat properly after (that is the proper amount of carbs and protein) and I usually fall asleep fine but after 2-3 hours I wake up all jazzed up and the rest of the night is very restless. In the morning I wake up exhausted.
I'm 59 years old but it has been like this for many years with other sports too, for example when I played tennis in the evening.
I can't find a solution to this problem. Any ideas what is going on here?
Many thanks,
Andrzej

lawrences

Use an alarm to nap for 20-40 minutes then wake up and do things until a normal bedtime.

You may feel groggy and hungover when you wake up but once you get used the rhythm it's fine. Used to use this method for early morning rowing sessions.

aweber

Interesting! Will try.
Thanks,
A

JayKosta

I have similar results from eating a large meal late in the day.
The process of digesting the meal allows sleep for a few hours, but then when the meal has been digested my body is all refueled and full of energy.
This isn't a major problem for me because I exercise and ride in the late morning or early afternoon.

In your situation, I'd try to find a way to eat the big meal a few hours before riding, and then just use a protein recovery aid in the evening, and try to eat less in the evening.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Grill

How much caffeine do you consume? I cut all of it out about 5 months ago and have reaped the rewards ever since...

aweber

Interesting point about the big meal. Will experiment with that too.

Regarding the caffeine, I usually dring two strong coffees per day: one early in the morning and another one usually 2-3 hours later. Nothing in the afternoon.

Thanks, good people,
Andrzej

ut_och_cykla

Probably a bit of trial and error will help you find something that works. Here's some ideas:
TAke some time to warm down. SPin gently /stretch etc.
There is/was a protein based SiS product called Nocte which was supposed to aid sleep/recovery. Thought it helped me a bit. But a small protein rich meal and magnesium top up might help just as much.
MAgnesium is meant to help sleep/nerve recovery. Take extra every night for a few weeks. Its not harmful - excess is removed in urine.
Also try warm bath or alternativley ice cold.
Is it whole body wakefullness or just legs? IS it discomfort or just 'buzzing'. I think if its just 'buzzing' its more likely due to overdoing things. Don't do hard sessions late in day. try doing them earlier - like before work?
Hope you get it sorted!

aweber

Thanks for these ideas.
I guess I just need to experiment more and find out what works for me.
Regarding your questions:
1. It is the whole body excitement, wakefulness, buzzing, not just the legs and definitely not a discomfort.
2. The problem is definitely more acute when I work out late in the day but unfortunately there is not much I can do about this as some of our club rides start at 6:30 pm and, since they are fun, I don't want to skip them.
Thanks again,
Andrzej