[Timmy94]

Hi everyone,

I am new in this forum and I have a question regarding sleep maintenance and exercise.
I play semi-professional basketball and I we practice from 8 to 10 in the evenings. I am also a teacher and have to be up at 6 in the mornings. I try my best to be in bed at 11 after a shower and something to eat. Most of the time I manage to fall asleep but wake up a few hours later. After actual games on sundays, I sometimes do not sleep at all since the adrenaline is keeping me awake.

Any help here?

[Anly]

same issues (on a much less professional and amped up exercise regime :)).
i’m tinkering more with this myself.
1. mindset shift… embracing the fact that this is a choice i’m making has helped and acknowledging that my body is not going to be in sleep mode after i exercise and eat. i’m willing to do the trade off, and it’s a choice has helped… it’s not ‘insomnia’ so much as setting my body up for competing physiological realities… knowing that i’m not going to fall asleep right away helps. i’m making a choice to exercise late at night and i know there is a natural trade off with sleep ability since i’ve just amped up my body and it’ll take time to down-regulate. this releases some ‘anxiety’ around it, it’s normal and expected and my choice.
2. i’m tinkering with eating a lot more during the day heading into a PM workout and making sure i eat some type of ‘dinner’ before the workout (again, balancing digestion and the workout). and maybe ‘snacking’ during the workout if needed…. just as i would ‘fuel’ my body for a triathlon or long bike ride.
3. don’t hit home and start rushing. hit home and be ready to slowly do things i normally do. if i rush through the evening then my body is even more ‘on alert’ and not ready for sleep. so, start to wind down even on my ride home. this is more a mental shift than anything. but really working to not obsess about rushing. knowing what i’m going to cook (or better have it ready as leftovers to just heat) is a big one for me. i eat first and shower next because that’s what i normally do and i want to keep the evening routine ‘normal’. i’m more likely to some stretching/mobility/somatic/yoga type stuff at some point. whatever your normal ‘cues’ are to wind down and rest.
think about if you need to be in bed within an hour. maybe 2 hours makes more sense and allows you to gain in at home rest and relaxation time without really shortening the sleep

[aquarius740]

agree with everything anly suggested. i’ve played evening volleyball for almost 20 years and sometimes our games don’t end until 11 p.m. i used to rush home and try to force myself into bed right away but then i’d be up all night, probably from a mix of adrenaline and being too warm after playing. within the past couple of years, i’ve started letting myself unwind slowly and not worrying about what time i go to bed. if that means i don’t go to bed until midnight or 1 a.m. after those late games, so be it. i come home, shower, have a snack (usually a peanut-butter sandwich), then relax on the couch with a book or some knitting (anything non-electronic would work, though). it’s all about letting yourself chill out, mentally and physically. good luck and keep playing!

[Author]

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