Looking for your opinions / suggestions on falling asleep and staying asleep after training.
I don’t have issues sleeping on non-training days, so I don’t think the “don’t use electronics” before bed is applicable.
I have recently cut back on caffeine, but do take a pre-workout with 135 mg caffeine in it on workout days. Maybe I should try to workout without the preworkout
It seems like very heavy work, or high volume seem to have the largest impact.
Anyways, please let me know what has worked for you. It just seems like my mind is racing when it is time for sleep.
Why don’t you try a better for you sleep supplement? Z-12 on this site works and isn’t habit forming. There are also a few other really good ones out there.
Or take a non stim pre workout
Or both
You can take z 12 with zma . It’s a supplement that is specifically for sleep. There are a lot of them out there. Also something called hypnos which you can Google since I wouldn’t be able to link it here. It’s a powder that you drink 30 min before bed . Knocks me the hell out , I love it.
I’ll have to check those products out. I have also heard a good reviews for time released melatonin (but I try to stay away from things that knock me out).
I have the training down, just need the recovery to be on point, and not falling asleep completely negates the training.
I too sometimes have sleep issues when training in this range or later.
I don’t take caffeine pre-workout though. I think in my case its more just I need more time for my body to “slow down” and for the tension from training to subside. I usually hit the gym around 5 or earlier if I can.
I would say (as others already have) cut out the caffeine. It probably doesn’t make as big a difference as you think. Also maybe try training earlier if your schedule allows.
Another trick I use is making sure my bedroom is nice and cool before I go to bed. I live on the Canadian Prairies where it is quite cold a lot of the year so its easy for me to crack the window 15-30 minutes before bed. I fall asleep pretty quick in a cool room.
Agree. I think it is cumulative, so maybe with going off of caffeine, I’ll be able to sleep better. I do think adrenalin from working out has something to do with it too.
It’s not uncommon for people who exercise, play a sport, or do something physically strenuous to have a hard time sleeping that soon after the event. Can you work out in the AM? I think your sleep troubles would go away if you did, and you likely wouldn’t need to cut out your beloved preworkout.
The caffeine is probably the main factor, you are taking caffeine 4-5 hours before going to bed. I go to bed around 10 during the week and if I have any caffeine past 3pm I have trouble getting to sleep. This is what Wikipedia says:
Caffeine’s biological half-life – the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of a dose – varies widely among individuals according to factors such as pregnancy, other drugs, liver enzyme function level (needed for caffeine metabolism) and age. In healthy adults, caffeine’s half-life is between 3–7 hours.
Yeah, the half life having such a large range makes it hard to use, but it does definitely suggest that if taking it at 5 pm I will surly have some at bedtime.
Knowing stress is cumulative and the body treats caffeine like stress hormones, it is logical to reduce caffeine.
