Sleep.

RonanP77

I woke up this morning with a big smile on my face because I had gotten 7 hours solid sleep. I have a mild case of insomnia and for 10 years or so got by on 3-4 hours sleep a night. Since I moved out to the country 4 years ago that improved a little to 4-5 hours a night.

Since I started running and cycling a few months back I've been sleeping WAY better and was just wondering if anyone else was the same when they started exercising?

It's yet another benefit of running and I'm just sorry I didn't start years ago.

crisco10

Yup. One of the many benefits; I'm asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow these days!

Ososlo

Initially yes running improved it in a big way (insomniac since i was a kid) but running a couple of years now and it's as bad as ever

walshb

Nice to read a success story!

Enduro

This article might be of interest. I've been hearing similar things a lot over the last year or two, emphasising the huge importance of sleep to sports performance.

Tigerandahalf

A lot of pro players in soccer and rugby have afternoon naps.
The melatonin released in your brain when you run aids sleep supposedly. Though I have found it difficult to sleep after some runs. I read Tadhg Kennelly the former AFL player saying how many team mates had to take sleeping tablets after games as their minds and bodies would be overactive.

Ososlo

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

A lot of pro players in soccer and rugby have afternoon naps.
The melatonin released in your brain when you run aids sleep supposedly. Though I have found it difficult to sleep after some runs. I read Tadhg Kennelly the former AFL player saying how many team mates had to take sleeping tablets after games as their minds and bodies would be overactive.

interesting.. I stopped taking sleeping pills as they definitely have a negative impact on my running. They make me feel sluggish and less alert the next day. Maybe those guys only take them if they're not training the next day. Although I'm sure pros train every day.

Tigerandahalf

Ososlo wrote: »

interesting.. I stopped taking sleeping pills as they definitely have a negative impact on my running. They make me feel sluggish and less alert the next day. Maybe those guys only take them if they're not training the next day. Although I'm sure pros train every day.

Kennelly used to have a coffee or two before a game to pep him up. So perhaps that would affect the sleep and thus taking a tablet after.

mossym

played in a competitive indoor soccer league in the US where the last 50 min game of the night kicked off at 11.30. didn;t get home till almost one if you were in that slot. try getting to sleep after that .

i;ve a different angle of this to the op, need to start getting more sleep to support the level of training i am doing.

Tigerandahalf

I would be the same. I have quite a weak immune system in that a poor night's sleep can mean a mouth ulcer the following evening. The long tough runs run me down and I need a good long sleep afterwards (upto 10 hours) to recover well.

Murtinho

I sleep a lot better since i started aswell, normally only manage to read a few pages before im dropping the Kindle and sleep until morning. Find it a lot easier to get up aswell when i get a minimum of 7 hrs.

inigo

Murtinho wrote: »

I sleep a lot better since i started aswell, normally only manage to read a few pages before im dropping the Kindle and sleep until morning. Find it a lot easier to get up aswell when i get a minimum of 7 hrs.

I'm exactly the same. Plus my sleep seems to be much deeper. I don't hear the boys anymore when they wake up in the middle of the night and it takes the OH a while to wake me up too!

Cona

I used to work in a busy bar few years back where I would put in an 8 hour shift, finishing at around 2am. Physically, I would be tired but after being so alert in the bar and constantly serving drinks, calculating prices, change etc for 8 hours straight, my brain would be on over-drive and gone to mush...Some nights when I was very tired I would go straight to bed after work and I would fall asleep except my brain would continually think I am working, shouting at customers and calculating drinks in my head until I would wake up with a sore brain (not sure what a sore brain is, but thats the best way to explain it )

Anyway I figured out having 3 pints and watching 30 minutes of TV before bed sorted me out...

Those days are long gone now. I find if I dont run I stay up until 1-2am before I go to sleep. When I do run, I conk out at around 11.30 - 12