Logically, running should make you tired. It should make you tired and sleepy and I should have amazing sleeps after hard workouts, right? WRONG!
Not being able to sleep is a major problem in my life. I do ridiculous things. In my crazy-tired-but-unable-to-sleep state last night I deluded myself into thinking it would be a good idea to eat an embarrassing quantity of ice cream at about 2am.
Ridiculous. (And I think my waistband feels tighter today than usual...see what I mean when I say this is a problem?)
AND the problem is only exacerbated by the fact that there is suddenly NO COFFEE in my office. That's right, the kitchen that used to provide me with so much joy about 3 times a day is now running dry. WFT NatGeo? Who is in charge of ordering coffee? Can I become that person? I've even ventured to other floors to "borrow" their coffee - for some reason the whole building is coffeeless!
Ok, back to my subject:
After a night of wide-awakeness last night, I happened across some articles about running-induced insomnia. I’ve noticed that I have a hard time sleeping after hard workouts, but I never really thought much of it (rather than getting annoyed at like 2am when all I want to be doing is snoozing!).
It turns out that running produces endorphins and wakes you up, which overall is a good thing (think of that great post-run high feeling), but can be a problem when you run in the evening.
Some people also blame sleeping problems on over-training, but I think it’s probably more of a time-of-workout issue.
Good advice on ways to deal with this issue, however, is sadly lacking. Maybe there just isn’t really a solution. Suggestions include:
- Running in the morning (which I DO NOT enjoy),
- Running at least 3 hours before going to sleep (I already do that, usually it’s about 4 hrs – if I could run even earlier I would, but I have this situation called work that I go to every day)
- Doing yoga or calming routines before bed (hmm…maybe…).
So here are the links if you have this issue too. I can’t promise you much help, but at least you’ll know that you’re not alone in your late-night awakeness!
http://askcoachjenny.runnersworld.com/2009/07/sleepless-in.html
“Can running affect your sleep patterns?”
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?uan=2035
