Late night workouts

I certainly don't do those late night workouts, but everything I've read about sleep deprivation says that exercising too soon before bed can contribute to sleep disturbances. Furthermore, I've read that based on body rhythms, the optimal time for most people to exercise is in the early afternoon.

Are you sure you can't rearrange your schedule to allow exercising sooner? Maybe you could do it during your lunch break? If you're really busy at work and stay late a lot, you could go to the gym and then go back to work. That's what a coworker of mine does. He prefers to leave around 4:30 and come back at 5:30. That way, when he comes back to work, it's quiet and he can get more done.

Edited by Whit 2004-03-30 4:42 PM

Yeah, I fall asleep at my desk all the time.
Quite a few nights I've started my workout at 9pm or so, finished by 10:30. I could not fall asleep at all until 4am, then up at 6. I had to rearrange my schedule completely to get any sleep, I'm sacking in at 10-11pm and getting up 5:30 or so to fit a CV workout in before work. I can almost always fall right asleep and wake feeling rested if I stick to that schedule.
I just tried a homeopathic insomnia remedy last night called 'Moon Drops' and woke up feeling like I'd polished off a 5th of Ol' Grandad. Worse than no sleep at all.

sawyer

Falling asleep at the desk and up all night. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Have you considered that you may have sleep apnea. I'm hoping that my weight loss will contribute to my being able to put away my CPAP, which helps me breathe at night. I too find myself on the treadmill at 9:30 or so from time to time, but am usually able to fall asleep by midnight, and then get about 5-6 hours sleep.

If you snore, I'd consider the sleep apnea apsect. I find that the bad nights sleep caused by it tend to become overwhelming during the day because of the day after day lack of sleep, even though you think you're sleeping. My workouts don't tend to keep me from sleeping.

Top 15 things to say if caught sleeping at your desk


15. "They told me at the blood bank this might happen."

14. "This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to."

13. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper"

12. "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!"

11. "This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!"

10. "I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance"

9. "Actually doing a "Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan" (SLEEP) I learned at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend.

8. "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminatory towards people who practice Yoga?"

7. ""Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem."

6. "The coffee machine is broken...."

5. "Someone must've put decaf in the wrong pot."

4. "Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won't wear off!"

3. "Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!"

2. "Wasn't sleeping. Was trying to pick up contact lens without hands."

1. "Amen".

LOL... those are good. Yes, I've fallen asleep at work, and yes, I've been busted at it. Mostly I got teased, endlessly and forever. Sigh....


I do late night workouts sometimes, but they're never my main training workout, if that makes any sense. I pretty much have two workout sessions a day -which sounds way more impressive than it is. And it doesn't even sound all that impressive. I'm doing the "yoga and..." training plan -a highly scientific and well-thought out plan. NOT! I'm making it up as I go along. But in any case, if I'm going to have to work out after about 9:30 p.m. I reserve a restorative yoga workout to go in that slot and do my biking or swimming or whatever earlier in the morning. This stuff does have to fit into a real-life life, after all.

When I do that, I can sleep just fine. So maybe add in a gentle 20-minute yoga session after your regular workout to help you sleep. Or do the warm milk thing. I swear it worked on my kids. A warm bath always works for me.

Or wait.... I know... tell yourself that you have to get up and read some horribly boring something-or-other for work. You'll be asleep in no time

Andrea

Top 15 list is hilarious!! I was slipping into the same rut of having to train at night. I didn't have much trouble falling to sleep but I decided to change my workouts anyway. I have now started going to be when my kids do and getting up early. I was a challenging transition at first but it's starting to stick. Now I have plenty of time in the am to train and sometimes extra time to just relax w/ a cup of coffee.

I've never been an up early person. However, getting up early to train really isn't tough IF you get to bed at a decent hour. ;-)

"Or wait.... I know... tell yourself that you have to get up and read some horribly boring something-or-other for work. You'll be asleep in no time."

Or he could do what I did in college -- I read my linguistics textbook every night because anytime I read it was bedtime! ;-) Honestly, it got so bad that I could only read it after a full pot of coffee in the morning.

Thanks for the input - I think I have used about 10 of the top 15 already

Today is an off day so I should be able to catch up on some sleep.
Not much of a morning person - but I think that might be my best option.
I think if I could move 2 workouts a week to the AM I should be Ok.