[Closed] Sleep after a long ride...

If anything I find I sleep better after anything up to about 12 hours of continuous tough effort

Cross that threshold and I find my sleep quality is fitfull and unsatisfying -i get the same thing I'd I race after 8pm on zwift.

After yesterday's long ride I fell asleep instantly at 10.30pm woke and was ready to go at 4am this morning

Where as when I do no exercise of a day I find my mind goes into over drive at night.

Not me, as soon as I get home I grab a shower or bath and want to sneak a power nap but since mini D came along that's not possible anymore. As soon as he's in bed I'm wanting to go to sleep.

I always sleep better after a ride but I don't use gels.

Since mini D came along I don't have any problems sleeping! My problem is I don't get to sleep enough!

Are you over doing it?

Power nap if i feel knackered sets me up for normal sleep later

If I don't feel knackered i'm going to be fine.

Knackered for me would mean falling asleep if i sit down and walking into large objects like doorways/walls etc.

If you haven’t hydrated properly your body temperature may not be optimal for a good nights sleep. As you also say, energy products with caffeine consumed late in the day may also affect your sleep. Are you filling up with protein before you go to bed? This digests more slowly in your gut and promotes a sense of being full for a good nights rest.

Hydration and stretching being done effectively?

I find it's more to do with the gap between exercise and sleep. If I come in from an "afternoon" ride at 10pm then there's zero chance of sleeping before 1am at least. When bikepacking that can be a PITA! I think it's to do with body temperature and dehydration, if I have a cold shower (or swim in a river) and drink a few pints of water in the hour before bed I'm out like a light.

Also cut the junkfood out on the bike (i.e the gells.) I find I'm just as susceptible to a sugar crash an hour after getting off the bike fueled by jelly babies as if I'd just eaten them without riding. I still carry them as an "in case of emergency" bit of fuel, but avoid eating much at all in the last hour of a ride unless I'm struggling.

I thought what you were experiencing was supposedly quite common, surprised that the replies so far suggest otherwise.

I sleep badly after long tough rides, even after 'good' turbo sessions late in the evening.

It is/was sufficiently well recognised that some recovery shakes were tailored for nighttime use, I think they had more magnesium in them to help calm the muscles down. I used to kick like a mule in my sleep if I'd been riding late in the evening.

I'll be discovering for myself in T-minus 11 weeks when I'm 'allowed' to start getting back on the turbo, it's strictly 7pm onwards for me...

Do you have any booze? Alcohol is linked to poor sleep & it certainly affects mine, although bizarrely, every single person i know sleeps like a log when they're pissed, but for some reason beer has the same effect as coke on me. Might as well not even bother going to bed if i've had a few.

I'm sure I've seen a very similar thread to this on STW before, maybe last year.
In short, to quote the doctor to the man who had Tom Jones syndrome, it's not unusual.

I feel roasting hot for about 12 hours after a long ride, but it's not just that that affects sleep, I think.

every single person i know sleeps like a log when they’re pissed

They're talking pish, or just too drunk to realise, alcohol does not improve sleep. IME it can help you to drop off, but it won't last.

but avoid eating much at all in the last hour of a ride unless I’m struggling.

go on then - why the hell would you want to end a ride in a depleted state ?

IF your riding late at night then yes change from caffeine gels (why would you be taking caffeine gels recreational riding?)

jelly babys are not equal with gels btw - they dont come under the same banner , Unless your using some pretty nasty gels - such as SIS

Ok. I am only asking as I am genuinely interested, what constitutes non junk bike fuel that’s suitable for evening rides?

As others have said, for me it's about the gap between the end of the ride and going to bed - needs to be long enough to rehydrate, eat a bit, stretch, shower, whatever it is to help the mind unwind and body start to recover.

Alcohol within 2-3 hours of bed destroys my sleep - I go off ok but then weird dreams disturb me right through the night. Worryingly, chocolate has started to do the same thing.

Do you do post-ride stretching OP?

chocolate has started to do the same thing.

Caffeine content can have an effect on those of us sensitive to it anyway.

I think this is a cortisol caused restlessness.
I get it and have improved matters by taking a tablet of the antihistamine that makes you drowsy...loratadine (i think). This has def8nately improved matters for me.
However i always end up dehydrated however much i drink and i end up in a constant cycle of thirst, peeing, thirst, peeing. Not uncommon for me to do half a dozen huge pees during the night. I struggle to hydrate and not have diuresis after a nig hard ride.

Ok. I am only asking as I am genuinely interested, what constitutes non junk bike fuel that’s suitable for evening rides?

I was thinking more along the lines of not eating at all in the last hour of a ride. Not point loading up your muscles with sugars that they'll not use.

I'm not super* skinny mind you. If you're built like Froome then the calories may be more necessary.

*not even just skinny, or even slim TBH

jelly babys are not equal with gels btw – they dont come under the same banner , Unless your using some pretty nasty gels – such as SIS

I wouldn't say they were, but they are a cheap and convenient way to get some sugar. Compared to gels which end up costing ££ and generate pockets full of sticky rubbish. If you're not flat out in a race you don't need the absolute fastest absorbed glucose:fructose ratio.

I have suffered with sleeping issues after riding for quite a long time now. Since the lockdown and the heat I have been getting up at 6am to go riding, you would think that the time gap between this and going to bed (usually around 10pm) would be enough for my body to relax and sleep, it doesn't matter.

I think its more to do with putting stress on the body/cortisol levels. I also asked about this quite sometime ago. I started to take chlorphenamine antihistamines for a while.

I find if I go out riding a certain average speed and/or longer than a set distance then my sleeping suffers, the only positive is that I sleep better the night after.

Sometimes it puts me off doing too much as I know I will have a rough night.

If it's cortisol/stress related I wonder if diaphragmatic/meditative breathing exercises would help?

My physio is super keen on breathing exercises, she thinks most of my back issues are stress related. Certainly helps to calm me down, usually feel sleepier after doing them.

I've been on call the last week so have not had a drop of alcohol and have had absolutely rubbish sleep every night, wake up every 2 hours in a blind panic about work stuff 🙁

The week before I did a ride when I had the energy after work and probably sunk either a bottle of wine or 2 bottles of strong cider and slept really well.

Not sure it proves anything other than being on call is bad for you!

I struggle too. Late night rides or late turbo sessions leave me feeling nice and physically tired i.e. can happily just lay on the sofa and relax, but not at all ready for bed.

I do my best on hydration, and couldn't really get more fluid in, but sleep is still fitfull, and I end up needing multiple pees during the night.

I hardly ever use gels or sugary sweets, but do scoff on food when I get back in.

Weird one for a few of us it would seem...

me too. have struggled with sleep for many years, tried almost everything to fix it
But doing epic days in the mountains (ok, on foot or moto)or wherever, leaving me physicaly exhausted,keeps me awake most of the night
Ive decided its cortisol related, but doesnt seem much I can do about it
Months of cortisol reducineg foods etc did little.
Also aches and pains keep me from sleep, which I maybe dont notice before 2 am

"Late" big effort rides often lead to a bad night's sleep for me, classic case on Saturday just gone...

Woke too late to head out nice and early while cool, so elected to do a ~13 loop at ~2040 at pretty much full tilt to get back before dark. Went to bed ~2230 but was still awake at gone midnight, woke due to daylight just before 0600 and ended up being a zombie all Sunday, tired but unable to wind down properly while being too tired to decide on what to do all day.

I had a couple of years doing a few audaxes and could never get to sleep afterwards, often laying awake til 2 or 3am. I wouldn't necessarily feel shattered the next day, but it would be frustrating more than anything else. Never did get to the bottom of it.

In my experience, if I'm either very unfit or really burned matches on a ride then sometimes I can sleep badly. This matches with my experience of work where sometimes I could be 'too exhausted' to sleep properly. It's like being in a stressed state.

Really interesting. Glad i'm not the only one. Will try some of the suggestions.