Consistently needing 9-10 hours sleep/night

H

holmie

New member
Hey all,

I've recently been in a pretty heavy training cycle (12-14 hours a week, with a down week of ~8 every 3 weeks or so). This consists of four runs per week (25-30 mpw), 3-4 mountain bike rides between 1.5-3 hours, and 3 full body strength sessions. I'm a 30 yr old female.

I've found that the past couple weeks I need consistently 9-10 hours of sleep and will nap a couple times a week too. This is pretty abnormal for me but definitely seems to help with recovery, though I'm surprised I can still go to bed early and sleep that much...

I'm feeling pretty good and recovering well, but it seems like a lot of sleep, more than when I was an elite athlete (though I was also younger lol). Does this check out with others experience and should I just keep it up with the sleep while the training is high?
 
@holmie have you tried a protein shake breakfast? Whey protein, tons of fruits/kale/spinach, mashed up with ice, normally does the trick.

I also had this problem when I was doing a 30-day challenge of heavy training periods. I found that I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t adequately resting my body after destroying muscles and getting gassed from cardio.
 
@holmie You’re 30, it just be like that when you leave your 20s 😂

I got tired just reading your training routine. Girl you are an inspiration and earning all your naps.
 
@holmie It's not an excessive amount of sleep. 8 hours is sort of the minimum for "enough" sleep when training hard. I think it's totally normal and fine.
 
@holmie In all honesty, I train much less than you (6-8 hours a week) and I absolutely cannot function with anything less than 9 hours of sleep a night 😅 If I get, say, 7 or 8, I’m noticeably foggy and irritable during the day, and much less energetic and motivated. I’d say you’re totally fine!
 
@authormargaretrosefrancis This is very reassuring — thank you! And fwiw I still need like 9 hours when I'm training less too. Sleep is just the best, I think I get self conscious when I hear about people functioning on 6-7 hours lol. Sleep queens united!
 
@holmie Given how much you're training this doesn't sound crazy to me. I'll tell you to get your iron checked because I think all women should do that regularly, but it doesn't seem out of the ordinary!
 
@holmie Yup, this checks! That’s a lot of activity and your body needs sleep to recover. Have you considered getting a Whoop? I find that it’s a helpful fitness tracker in terms of understanding how much recovery is needed based on your level of activity.
 
@3woes I used to have a whoop! Well, I still have it but didn't renew my subscription after about a year. I was becoming wayyyy too obsessed. Though it may be good to check in and approach it with a different mindset. Thank you!
 
@holmie From what I’ve seen that’s a normal amount for gene you are training that hard but short naps, making sure to get your fruit, veggies, and adequate fats could help cut that down a little.
 
@holmie Are you eating enough, and getting enough water/electrolytes? Both fuel and sleep will help with recovery, but maybe your body is overcompensating with sleep when it needs something else.
 
@aydria Definitely good on electrolytes and hydration. I stopped tracking about 4 weeks ago but I think I'm averaging 2200, though that could be low for my activity level.
 
@holmie Sounds similar to my own sleep needs when training hard/high volume. Currently struggling because I’m working out a TON (because I want to) - running 5x a week, lifting 3-5x/week, with walking/swimming/yoga on top of that - and I’m exhausted. It doesn’t help that I have small children who aren’t sleeping great. I just want to sleep for 14 hours and catch up one of these days!!

Adding for other moms: please do NOT compare your amount of activity to mine. I am super type A, a control freak, and mentally burnt out from having 2 kids under 2 by myself almost all the time (except nights and weekends but I still am the main parent). My workouts are my escape, and for my kids they magically are calm and not too needy only when I’m working out. It’s super helpful for me because it makes it easy for me to exercise, and motivates me to go when they’re acting crazy inside! I also have a home gym, and a safe place to run every day (though the weather in FL is awfully hot), so I’m able to do my workouts without hauling my kids anywhere. When my first was a baby, all this was NOT possible. I just got super lucky with my second!
 
@0st This is obnoxious unsolicited advice, but if you crank out too much cortisol to keep up with this level of activity for too long it can have a negative impact on your health. Unless you have someone else (in addition to a coparent/spouse, or if you have an unhelpful spouse, consider this double!!) picking up and cleaning after you and your kids, you probably are moving around all day on top of your training. Interrupted sleep is not good for your body at all, especially when you're sustaining this level of activity + the mental load of parenting.

My kids finally started sleeping really consistently this past year. After +/- 8 years of consistently interrupted sleep, training, and the chores/running after kids, my body naturally wants 9-10 hours a night. I dropped weight almost immediately after being obese with a fairly healthy diet and super active lifestyle, and it is trending down without me doing much else than getting sufficient rest. Cortisol is a nasty thing.
 
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