sleep - how do you take yours

hunnymonster

I had a late night, last night, which is unusual for me on a school night. I've just had a quick look in the literature for information on sleep and endurance sport and most of what I found was either concentrated on caffeine or people with insomnia. I was just wondering, how much sleep boardsie's get? Has it changed with exercise? other comments?

TheRoadRunner

As much as I can get. I definitely need more sleep when I increase the intensity of my training.

I had a work function last night and I ducked out very early as I knew I wouldn't be able to train properly today and maybe even tomorrow.

Bambaata

I always need my 8 hours. I just cant function properly without it. I try to get to bed for 11 if i want to get up for training at 7 but alas it doesn't always work! My aim is to do that 3 times a week. It has been hit and miss thus far but as the season approaches (Tri) i will have to get more disciplined.

who007

7 hours at the moment - less on shift - usually around 6 but then I would go back to bed for a nap on the days off in the middle of the day or for 20 mins before a long run and after a REALLY long run (or what seems to be average for you ) I'd take a 30 min nap.

uglyjohn

i know im not as serious as most of you but i find for me training helps me sleep and sleeping helps me train. i dont sleep well unless im tired and i cant train well if im tired. i like to train in the morning so weekend and holidays i try toget to bed early so i can get up early. im not sure how being tired when i get up affects my performance, but it deffitaly affects my motivation to get out of bed.

rainbow kirby

Not enough sleep at all (5 hours a night during the week). ****ing final year. >.>

Sosa

If i dont get at least 7 i am like a briar for the day.
8 is my preference...9+ i have not seen since the 5 years my son is on this planet.

Example :
I was awake on the hour every hour wednesday night,so last night i fell asleep on the couch at 9:30...woke up at 12,went to bed and did not move until 8 this morning...thats 10.5 hours,catch up was needed.

If i was doing a long run in the morning,im in bed by 10 to be asleep by 11 if possible.

hunnymonster

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Not enough sleep at all (5 hours a night during the week). ****ing final year. >.>

nothing would make me go through the pain of finals again. I feel for you. I really do.

thirtyfoot

Sleep and training and working full-time is a killer. It can be hard to get a good 8 hours sleep when you work and then train after work. My routine is something like this -

6.45am - Up, showered, breakfast and commute to work.
8am - Work until maybe 6:00.
6-7pm - Commute to training
7-9:15pm - Training
9:30pm - 11pm - Home, food, relax a bit, watch some TV.
11-11.30pm - bed and usually drift off by 11:45-12:00 depending on the intensity of the training - harder training session can lead to touble sleeping due to soreness/tiredness or simply the buzz off the session.

So usually 7 hrs is a good night sleep on a school night.

I remember reading Paul Hession's blog and he said he didn't know how someone could survive and train in a city like Dublin with such bad traffic etc. Merely getting to training is a killer. Throw in the fact you may be working. The funny thing is when you are flat out and you have a routine (ROUTINE is the key), things just work along fine. Up same time, brekkie same time, snack same time at work, lunch same time, mid-afternoon snack same time, travel to training same time etc etc. Reminds of line in Eamon Coghlan book regarding what Jumbo said to him about even "pissing the same time" every day. When you work (in an office especially) you are tied to having a routine anyway so its a positive. I hate routine but have had to adapt (kicking and screaming) and I now survive. What is it - 21 days to create a habit.

Routine and being organised and being realistic is what I do. Faced with the option of getting an extra hours sleep or refuelling and eating properly after training, I'd take the refuel option.

Sumac

I do my long run on sat morning - Don't set an alarm so usually get at least 8 hrs sleep if not more. I find that I will be able to run 30 sec to a minute faster than on a run after work (using the same level of exertion). On the latter part of a long run I may end up doing 7 min miles.
I did tempo work during the week and I struggled to do 1 7min mile

Is there anyone else that finds it so much easier to run in the morning after a long sleep?

shels4ever

Anything less then 7 hours and i'm going to find it hard to run. Usually get 8 hours if i can.

MCOS

For the first time in about 4 years I got more than 10 hours in one go last weekend and I actually sang out loud on a miserable morning run! On average about 6 hours for me. I live on that and am quite used to it. Heavy workouts and long days take their toll though. I've increased the training volume a bit in the last couple of weeks and am really struggling to get up sometimes. The snooze button has become a daily battle ground I have plenty of commitments that challenge the balance in my life. Ideally I would like to be doing a long run or long bike at the weekend but I am a single parent and have my son every weekend. I also have a College assignment due by Monday so I rely on people to get some training done. College is actually really cutting into training now but it has to be done.

I really try to get to bed by 11. M-W I am not usually home until 2230 and then prep lunch, work clothes and training gear for the next day. I work 9-5.30 and have just 2 available evenings to train, hence most of my sessions are before work.

Wanted to watch a movie with the OH last night, threw it on about 10 (much later than intended but I figured I'd doze iff half way through) and it was after 12 that I fell asleep. Alarms were going off on my phone, the OH's phone, my watch, cat was crying for food, dog was yelping, OH went to work and I slept through the lot! I miraculously awoke at 8.20 for a frantic rush into work. Because I didn't get up I missed the swim session I have on my programme. I collect my son after work today and I could go for a few miles when he sleeps at 9.30 this evening but as my alarm will be set for 5.30am to get up for a lsr I'll forego this option to get some reading done and hit the sack before 11.

Oh and I do have a bit of a social life around this too... just a bit though;)

P.S for all the mornings I get up training, I'm still not a morning person!

Racing Flat

I think sleep is very important. I don't know how scientific (probably not at all) the guideline 'for every mile a week you run, get an extra minute a night sleep' is e.g. if you run 60miles a week, you need an extra hour a week compared to if you did no running. But I'd say the more sleep the better. Many of the full time athletes I've read about get 15 hours a day.

Forcing oneself to bed early is a good idea I think, so that you wake up fairly fresh. I think waking up very tired and finding it hard to get out of bed is a bad sign. But like some above have alluded to, going to bed early is not always possible, so waking up tired is often inevitable. My ideal would be to get to bed at 9.30 every night, but this rarely happens. More likely 10-10.30 and up at 6.30. How much sleep I get varies though and I'll very commmonly be twiddling my thumbs at 3.00am.

I (try to) get around all of this in 2 ways. Firstly: Usually I go running straight after work, except on Tues, Thurs I get home for an hour or two before training with the club. I will nearly always get into bed at this time and dose off for an hour, similarly on Fridays, my rest day, when I come home I go to bed for an hour or two. If it's good enough for Paula...:P. I have worked in France and South America, where long lunchbreaks were the norm and the routine of lunch then bed for an hour seemed to allow me to run twice a day (nothing else to do when working abroad) and funnily enough I also slept very well....wonder whether the boss would mind me bringing a bed into the office here?

Secondly, I lie in at the weekend. This is hugely important for me - if I don't get a lie in either Sat or Sunday I will feel it all the next week. By lie in I just mean not getting up until I am fully awake and ready to get up. Some weeks that's 9.00, others it's 12.00. So if I meet lads early one of the days for a session or long run, there's no way I'll be meeting them early the other of the two days.

Tingle wrote: »

11-11.30pm - bed and usually drift off by 11:45-12:00 depending on the intensity of the training - harder training session can lead to touble sleeping due to soreness/tiredness or simply the buzz off the session.

Interesting. You'll often see 'unale to sleep after training' as an indicator of overtraining in books and articles, but I always find it tough to sleep after a hard session. (If I slept well on a Tuesday I'd feel we musn't have worked hard enough:(). One of the lads who used to train with us after a hard session would say 'I won't eat or sleep for x days after that' the number of days indicative of how hard he thought the session was.

The importance of routine you mentioned is also interesting - I remember when that fellow who was the first person to break 4 minutes for the mile indoors gave a talk a while back he said that this was paramount - that if you want to get the most out of your body you have to get it used to routine - that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day give or take about a half hour at most, weekends included. Obviously not as feasible for working people.

I'll finish by quoting some unknown: 'An amateur athlete thinks the difference between an amateur and a professional is that the professional trains more, while the professional athlete knows that the difference between an amateur and a professional is that the professional rests more'.

Get your sleep HoneyMonster!!!

Abhainn

It's a rare night I get 7 undisturbed hrs of sleep. I got one about 10 days ago and I felt like a new man!
Lights out by 11.15 - 11.30 weekdays. Up for 6.45 but usually have been up twice to our little princess during the night, either to bring to the toilet or locating her bunny rabbit for her. One gets used to the broken sleep.
With little person number 2 due in early May I doubt sleeping problem will improve.

As my milage has increased over the last month I am feeling tired more. And I'm getting narky. Usually have about 3 fresh strong coffees during the day to keep me going. Ahh caffeine.

liamo

6 - 7 hours sleep for me. In bed for about 11pm and up at 6am for training.

Even at weekends I don't really get a lie-in.

I do get a certain amount of catch-up sleep from the odd snooze in the early evening during the week and for an hour or so each day at the weekend.

In a perfect world I'd be in bed at 9:30pm for an almost guaranteed 8 hours sleep. But that would be unfair and rude to Mrs Liamo who gets up at a more human 8:15am or so and thinks of 9:30pm as daytime and 6am as nighttime.

MarieC

Im the kind that needs my 8hrs, 7hrs at a min. Anything less and Im a non-functioning cranky thing to be around. I find anyway even after I get up, it can take me a few hours to fully wake. I have found, probably since I got more seriously in to running, that Im reading alot less when I go to bed. Once I turn off the light thats it, Im in a coma. My lsr wont always be on a saturday, it depends on energy levels left over after the week. I try to have a sleep in at the weekends but have never been great with them, 10 is the latest i seem to be able manage. I haven't realised how much sleep benefits training, but definitely how much training benefits my quality of sleep.

thirtyfoot

Racing Flat wrote: »

Interesting. You'll often see 'unale to sleep after training' as an indicator of overtraining in books and articles, but I always find it tough to sleep after a hard session. (If I slept well on a Tuesday I'd feel we musn't have worked hard enough:(). One of the lads who used to train with us after a hard session would say 'I won't eat or sleep for x days after that' the number of days indicative of how hard he thought the session was.

Yeah, thats true or being very tired in the morning is another tell-tale sign. I feel tired most mornings and thats whether I train or not and even when I wasn't training I was tired in the morning. Linford Christie once said the thing he loved about training hard was that feeling in the morning when he fell out of bed and tried to walk to the bathroom but couldn't because the session the night before had killed him. I have that and the creaks in my ever ageing joints and bones in my 4 meter walk to the bathroom at 6.45 usually wakes up my wife:( It varies from one person to the next I'd imagine and thats how it must be impossible for a coach to juggle the needs of say 10 or 20 athletes, particularly young ones who may not have discipline or motivation. I use two things to know if I'm overtraining;

• Training performance - I'll know week to week if my times are slowing that something is wrong
• Motivation - if I don't want to train, I'm over-training. Some will will always want to train and will overtrain because of it but fortunately or unfortunately I don't suffer from always wanting to train. This season I've never wanted to miss training, last season there were a few times.

Also, on the days this season when my training performance has suffered, its because I either didn't eat properly after the previous nghts session or didn't eat properly before the session. Right now with work, I'm only getting max 6 hours sleep but my training times are getting faster:D Sometimes I'd love to be a full-time athlete but then I reckon the boredom would kill me.

eliwallach

Abhainn wrote: »

It's a rare night I get 7 undisturbed hrs of sleep. I got one about 10 days ago and I felt like a new man!Up for 6.45 but usually have been up twice to our little princess during the night, either to bring to the toilet or locating her bunny rabbit for her. One gets used to the broken sleep.
With little person number 2 due in early May I doubt sleeping problem will improve.

I feel your pain.
Have two under the age of 3 and a night of unbroken sleep is v rare (although they are beginning to happen).
In bed for 10:00 most nights to try and get some hours before blue baby wakes for bottle and then pink baby wakes to get up circa 06:30.
However, (even after the worst of nights) I haven't really foung that tiredness impinges upon my training.

ultraman1

i get about 7 hours a night. I dont a get a lie on at the week ends as i'd have to run in the morning so i can have a day with the family and if i fall asleep during day i get a clip off the OH....

hunnymonster

.

dna_leri

Used to survive ok on about 7 hours before I started back running.
Now find I need and usually get 8 hours.

Even without an alarm, I'll wake up after 8 hours so as long as I don't have a late night it means I still get up in time to breakfast and digest before my LSR at weekends.

messed_up

I usually try for 7-8 hours per night and though I have a fairly set routine for the week (the Oh gets up at around 6 each morning so she is in bed by 10-10:30 each night) my sleep patterns are, and have always been, a bit erratic.

Some nights I'll drift off straight away and others I'll drive myself bonkers trying! I especially find that If I train hard late in the evening that it takes my mind ages to lose the post workout buzz. Probably prone to not drinking enough water in the evenings too so can develop twitching legs from being a little de-hydrated

hunnymonster

I've always needed a lot of sleep. I've not sure the absolute amount has changed since I've become fitter. However, years ago I could survive a couple of late nights in a row and then catch up, these days I am the anti-christ with one late night most of the time. Having said that, I was worried the night of the Art O'Neill challenge when we stayed up all night in Wicklow. I thought I would be cranky and complaining but I was fine because I was focused on the event. Mind you, it could all be down to age rather than fitness.

pgibbo

In bed most school nights by 11 at the latest. Unless like last night if I get home from training and watch some UFC or Cage Rage! Then it's usually midnight or later. I tend to get up around 7 and usually wake before the alarm. At the weekends I don't set an alarm and usually just wake naturally at around 8 or 9 at the latest. Yes, no kids yet!
It's very rare I have an issue sleeping but find it difficult getting out of the bed on school days!
So, I guess around an 8 hour average. Not too bad at all.
After reading the posts, I have it damn easy compared to a lot of people on here. I have it especially easy compared to my OH. She's up at 6:30 each morning and has a 1.5 hour commute to work. Mine averages 30 minutes. Hence, my cooking skills are improving as I have dinner ready when she gets home. :cool:

Running Bing

I usually get about 8 hours a night. I need that tough..I envy people who can get by on tiny amounts of sleep. I feel its such a waste of time:D

Stupid_Private

Racing Flat wrote: »

'for every mile a week you run, get an extra minute a night sleep'

In my case I should most weeks be getting 55 minutes extra sleep a night. This is extra to how much sleep? What's the set amount of sleep a non-training person should have? Thanks.

jlang

I presume it's based on what YOU need on a week with no miles. So you just need to do a week without training to calibrate yourself.

Not very disciplined about it but I get between 6-8 hours per night. Only sleep in beyond 8 hours if was drinking the night before.

hunnymonster

I'm usually in bed by 10, asleep by 11 and up at 6. I get up a bit later at the weekends.

who007

MCOS wrote: »

For the first time in about 4 years I got more than 10 hours in one go last weekend and I actually sang out loud on a miserable morning run! On average about 6 hours for me. I live on that and am quite used to it. Heavy workouts and long days take their toll though. I've increased the training volume a bit in the last couple of weeks and am really struggling to get up sometimes. The snooze button has become a daily battle ground I have plenty of commitments that challenge the balance in my life. Ideally I would like to be doing a long run or long bike at the weekend but I am a single parent and have my son every weekend. I also have a College assignment due by Monday so I rely on people to get some training done. College is actually really cutting into training now but it has to be done.

I really try to get to bed by 11. M-W I am not usually home until 2230 and then prep lunch, work clothes and training gear for the next day. I work 9-5.30 and have just 2 available evenings to train, hence most of my sessions are before work.

Wanted to watch a movie with the OH last night, threw it on about 10 (much later than intended but I figured I'd doze iff half way through) and it was after 12 that I fell asleep. Alarms were going off on my phone, the OH's phone, my watch, cat was crying for food, dog was yelping, OH went to work and I slept through the lot! I miraculously awoke at 8.20 for a frantic rush into work. Because I didn't get up I missed the swim session I have on my programme. I collect my son after work today and I could go for a few miles when he sleeps at 9.30 this evening but as my alarm will be set for 5.30am to get up for a lsr I'll forego this option to get some reading done and hit the sack before 11.

Oh and I do have a bit of a social life around this too... just a bit though;)

P.S for all the mornings I get up training, I'm still not a morning person!

OMG I am in awe of you!!

gabigeist

For me the main change has been with age as opposed to excercise. Averaged 5 hours a night in secondary school but need the full 8 hours in my late 20s. I do similar amounts of excercise.

gerard65

In my 20's and early 30's I could survive on 5-6 hours a night, but once I hit the big 4oh I'm nodding off at 10pm. I'll read for half an hr or 40mins and try to be asleep by 11pm - up at 7 these days. Saturdays and Sundays you won't see me till after 10am unless I have a race.

911sc

Usually 10pm to 6am, 7 days.
2 weeks before marathon, i shift my sleeping pattern to 9:00pm/9:30pm - 5:00am.

How do i take mine? usually with my eyes closed :-)

pgibbo

Interesting graphic I came across from an article. Sorry I cannot find the article at the moment. Will keep looking.

hunnymonster

Article was in the Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

MCOS

*yawning at screen* I wish wish wish wish I could nap during the day. I love napping, its brilliant. I just very rarely if ever have the opportunity . *commences day dreaming...*

Seres

bed oneish , up 8 , 7 if i train , normally sleep broken , usually wake up tired , but shake it off after bout an hour , really need more sleep , dont think it really affects my training but more my will to get up and do it !! find i do struggle more to get up if i am training hard. defo difficult to juggle all efficently , something always gives , work , kids, partner , housework , me time , sleep

Woddle

I like to try and get about 8 hours and that normally sets me up nice for the day. Bed at 11 and up at about 7 when I stick Elvis aloha from Hawaii on and then start waking the kids, they love Elvis too :cool:
On Saturdays I might head up a little earlier to watch match of the day in bed and fall asleep, the wife is normally out with friends so it suits nicely and then I try to get up for about 6:30 on a Sunday morning for my long run and normally get back just as the wife is getting up. The kids are very independant and look after themselves on these mornings ie they know how to turn the telly on and I normally have a drink and a fruit bar ready for them and pray they leave there mammy alone as if they don't I hear about it as this would be her only ly in and she needs alot more sleep than I as the bread winner
I hate napping as I always feel I'm missing out on sth and just hate the thoughts of sleeping your life away

Peckham

Interesting thread. There is an article in this month's Runners World UK about this very subject. It recommends finding your ideal sleep level, which is done by going to bed four nights in a row at exactly the same time and allowing yourself to wake up naturally on each occasion (would imagine very few of us have the luxury of this!). The first three nights allows you to catch up on your sleep "debt", and then the amount you sleep on the fourth night is the natural level of sleep your body needs.

My sleep pattern is usually lights out at 11.30pm on a weeknight, and up at 6.10am. Seems to work fine for me. Key for me is to get at least one weekend night where I go to bed at midnight having consumed as little alcohol as possible(!) and then sleep through until I wake up naturally the next morning. Prefer to do this on a Friday night if possible.

donothoponpop

hunnymonster wrote: »

Article was in the Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

Just after trying a twenty min power nap on reading this article, napping has been rare for me over the years- certainly seems to have made me sharper and rejuvinated. Cheers:)

hunnymonster

Peckham wrote: »

Interesting thread. There is an article in this month's Runners World UK about this very subject. It recommends finding your ideal sleep level, which is done by going to bed four nights in a row at exactly the same time and allowing yourself to wake up naturally on each occasion (would imagine very few of us have the luxury of this!). The first three nights allows you to catch up on your sleep "debt", and then the amount you sleep on the fourth night is the natural level of sleep your body needs.

In theory this sounds good, but I'm a very light sleeper and the slightest sound wakes me. It would be rare for me to stay asleep more than 2 hours at a go.

Seres

hunnymonster wrote: »

Article was in the Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

very interesting