sleep trouble

[trinamac]

Hello Runners,
I'm on week 3 now and having a great time!
Running for 3 minutes straight made me feel like Wonder Woman, I've never felt so good.
I'm wondering if anyone else is having trouble sleeping at night?
I run/lift weights in the morning (depending on the day) and some days I go to be early because I'm so tired and want to get a fresh start. I only drink one cup of coffee in the morning but lately I have been waking up in the night feeling like every muscle is "buzzing", it's not pain or complete discomfort but enough to keep me awake like my arms and legs (especially) don't want to relax. Does anyone else have this problem? All I can find on the forum when I search for "sleep" are comments about how well everyone is sleeping after all of this excercise.

[rynaldo]

Tylenol PM???:) who knows... so far I am sleeping like a baby, well, for the 5 hours I get a night anyway, and with 10-12 hours on the job, this isn't easy... but who said it would be??? especially after a 15 year hiatus!!!:) hang in there...

[matt]

Spooky. This post was the very next thing I read after today's Zen Habits post on insomnia! That post actually recommends running as a cure for insomnia... Unfortunately, that post's about trouble getting to sleep, not waking up in the night.

Personally, I've not noticed a big link between running and insomnia. I've been running for nearly two years now, and I've had patches of insomnia and patches of really good sleep. This last fortnight's been really good sleep, in fact, and that was after I did a half marathon

Hopefully whatever's waking you up will be a transient thing, and fade away quickly!

Matt

[trinamac]

Thanks for the response Matt.
It does actually help knowing that I'm not the only one.
The past few weeks I've been sleeping fine. It seems like once I've gotten over a bit of a fitness "hump" sleep gets easier.
I'm on week 5 now, run 1 today was not overly challenging but I'm curious to see how I sleep after run 2 and (yikes) run 3 of this week.

Hopefully I won't be kept awake in anticipation of run 3

Trina

[barneyhairball]

I'm also having trouble sleeping. My problem is that I wake up at 2 am and then btwn 5-6 am. Why? It doesn't make sense. I've never done this before. I've always been a good sleeper. I wake up and could easily go to make a drink; its like when you are a kid and your mum tells you you must go to sleep but don't feel like it in the slightest. I'd have thought running would make me sleep better. The sleep I do get is fine, but is broken up as I have said. It's similar to when I was a student and stayed on the pc after 9 pm at night. I imagine it is like eating too many E numbers! I feel hyperactive. Maybe I should run in the morning; but I don't have the time before work. And, runing at lunchtime would be no good because I drip on stopping running! The office would not appreciate it! Any ideas?

[Halga]

I am not sure if you are still having this trouble but in case you are I thought this information might interest you. I suffer from something called restless leg syndrome at night which keeps me awake a lot. It is a lot like what you are describing. I have had it for years and have only recently found out that it is a recognised medical disorder.

If you think that you might also have this then try increasing the iron in your diet, avoid antihistamines and alcohol and do toe touch stretches (standing up then bend and touch toes with feet about shoulder width apart) as all these things help a lot.

I hope that helps.

[trinamac]

Halga,
Funny you should mention that because I have traditionally suffered from restless leg syndrome, it's torturous! I find that it is most bothersome when I give in to my "night owl" tendencies staying up late etc... I can't keep my legs still or stretch them enough to get to sleep.
The sleep trouble I've had lately, thankfully has not been RLS. It's not nearly as bothersome, just tiring because I can't get enough sleep. I described a kind of buzzing feeling in my muscles (not just legs) as I lay awake at night but I don't have the sensation that I need to keep them moving like with RLS.
I also noticed that my sleep trouble lately comes on when I've had to work a bit harder at the gym or running. Maybe it's my bodies way of dealing with a kind of a fitness "growth spurt"?
Trina

[barneyhairball]

hi trinamac

I'm still having trouble staying asleep; no trouble getting to sleep initially though. I'm on the 25 mins runs and things haven't improved. But it won't stop me I'll just keep going; its got to improve.