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As I have a lot of spare time at the moment I have been riding 3 times in the week and ride approximately 20 miles or around 1 hr 30mins to 2 hours.
At the weekend I will do one ride about 40 miles or so but riding anything around 30 miles or so and I have the worst night’s sleep, but the following night I often sleep well, so it’s something to do with the ride.
I've done a bit of reading and it looks like I might be riding too much and simply over doing it all. I drink plenty of water, exercising or not.
I ride because I love it and I just want to be able to ride further for longer to squeeze in some bike packing trips etc.
We eat healthy meals, however I am probably eating the wrong foods, before, during and almost certainly post riding.
I'm probably the wrong recovery food, so what foods should I be eating after a longish ride? We eat healthy meals, all freshly purchased and cooked, no processed food involved, very little junk food etc.
My instinct tells me that it’s a mixture of riding too much, too quickly (not as fit as I think I am) and just not getting the correct fuel & energy into my body.
What other tips can you guys offer to prevent post-workout insomnia?
Some times it just takes me a while to come down from the "hit" exercise delivers which is more apparent after evening exercise.
The other side to it could well be fuelling, if your body is running on empty it can cause issues, have your worked out what your calorie in/out is at the moment? That weekend ride could just be the point where you empty the tank a bit more.
Nearly all of my rides are AM, occasional PM rides. No, I dont keep track of in/out calories, may be I should start.
I did a ride of about 30 miles yesterday, finsihed around 3pm, average 11 to 12 mph, I did feel very alert and eyes wide open and I remained that way until around 12am, may be longer. I have a routine of bedtime at 10 to 10.30pm.
Most of my rides are finished before 1pm, so plenty of time to wind down I guess?
Do you use any energy products whilst riding? Keep an eye out for anything with caffeine in it. I use caffeine products on race days and often struggle to sleep until 2 am that evening despite racing mid afternoon. I hate it but its a small sacrafice to pay considering the benefits. I don't use caffeine products if I'm not racing, it's not worth it then.... Caffeine takes a long time to wear off, 12+ hours.
I also struggle to sleep if I've done a higher intensity ride in the evening. I think most people are the same, probably the endorphins...? I definitely need a few hours at least to wind down.
I sleep like a baby the night after that though.
You'll find your heart rate is elevated after exercise for a while too. I think this contributes to sleep trouble. I found my HR returns to normal quicker the fitter I am. Try monitoring your resting HR before and after riding.
I also suffer with terrible nights sleep the night after a ride, feels like I’ve been on speed.
can’t settle, rushing mind, itching to get out again.
I just guess the more you ride regularly the more it will settle down to accompany your routine.
I dont use gels or energy drinks. They dont always agree with my body. I do use Cliff bars often when I am out. I did read somewhere that stress on the body from over doing it creates more cortisol or something...
Yeah, I tend to sleep like a baby the night after too, but like you say, its a small price to pay.
I will try monitoring my resting HR before and after riding. I guess riding with a routine over time will allow the body to adjust. The problem like most people is finding a balance between life at riding, but I always seem to end up either having too much time or never enough, so the routine and consistancy is diffcult.
Its just frustrating and the effect of feeling a bit crap the next day after interupted sleep.
It's frustrating. I'm typing this a bit bogeyed after a poor nights sleep last night. My mind was still working full gas. I'd been out for a few hours for a very high intensity ride before hand and got back about 8pm. I was a bit stressed and rushing to get out by 6 oclock as I didn't want to run out of day light. I think it all contributes to it.
Ive found it helps to have a nice easy 20 minute cool down at the end of the ride. I didn't have time for that last night though!
I can relate to this. Refuelling is definitely the biggest key - if you don't, your body is trying to recover but can't.
I sometimes take a couple of paracetamol - I can't explain it medically, but I feel like it puts my body (stressed by exercise) at ease.
My instinct tells me that it’s a mixture of riding too much, too quickly (not as fit as I think I am) and just not getting the correct fuel & energy into my body.
18 months ago I could've written the same thing.
Not sleeping properly is your body's reaction to the stress of exercise. We're primitive creatures that have evolved to spend a few minutes at max effort running away from sabretooth tigers and/or hours creeping up on woolly mammoths. Exercise for the sake of it is something our bodies aren't that keen on and amongst other things it alters our cortisol production which is a hormone that allows our bodies to be fuelled while we're asleep. Clever stuff.
Exercise of more than an hour or so stimulates cortisol production so instead of being at a low at around 3-4am it's churning away trying to repair all the damage you did during your bike ride.
It's a complicated subject and I don't know enough about it to suggest a cure other than take it easy but that's basically what disturbs your sleep.
rocketman
We’re primitive creatures that have evolved to spend a few minutes at max effort running away from sabretooth tigers and/or hours creeping up on woolly mammoths. Exercise for the sake of it is something our bodies aren’t that keen on
It’s a complicated subject and I don’t know enough about it.
So where does persistence hunting factor into your explanation?
Could be a combination of over-training (Stravistix free plugin could give you an idea of this if you use a HRM and/or power meter https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn?hl=en ) and riding too late at night.
I found riding after ~1830 meant I was not ready to sleep until way past my bedtime of ~2200.
Do you stretch after the big rides?
I get the sleepless thing much less since I sussed I need to do that.
No I dont stretch, I know I should.
My midweek rides are around 20 miles or so, as it can be time restrictive (1.5 to 2 hours). I try to squeeze in at least two, if not three. Then my weekend ride can be 30 to 40 miles, time around 3 to 3.5 hours. I'm never really in a rush to get the rides done, most of them are between 10 & 12 mph.
Whats the best way to increase the time/distance gradually, a rough figure or formula..?