So sleepy after working out

[alexandervrc]

34 y/o male, vegan for 3 years. After I workout (nothing high intensity i.e. 20-30 min running, calisthenics, etc.) I get really sleepy the next day or 2. Similar to the feeling of jet lag, I can barely focus and I’m pretty much useless. I can’t keep going on like this, feels like something is wrong. I started supplementing an adult multivitamin a few weeks ago and protein shakes with no difference. Has anyone ever experienced this?

 

[jewelz613]

@alexandervrc I’d talk to a doctor mate, I only feel like this on a leg day I go absolutely bonkers on and lift until I can’t stand. I wonder if you have low blood pressure? Low blood sugar? Reddit isn’t the place though. See a doctor mate! Take care of yourself

 

[yahkov]

@alexandervrc It wasn’t until I started getting fit that I learned how drastically sleep deficient I was. Make sure you are getting lots of sleep. Your body repairs and recovers at this time.

 

[godsgrace101]

@yahkov And if he has sleep apnea or UARS, his sleep doesnt allow him to repair and recover.

 

[plsletmevanish]

@alexandervrc Are you getting enough calories after working out? And a balance of nutrients?

 

[rygaku]

@alexandervrc Maybe your electrolytes are low?

 

[wrangler]

@alexandervrc what are you eating post workout? what does your diet and fluid intake consist of regularly? How many calories a day are you getting? are you eating enough protein, carbs? drinking enough water?

 

[paradox101]

@alexandervrc No I don't think thats normal. Exercise is supposed to help you feel more energetic. Def go to a doctor and get some tests done

 

[needhelp20]

@alexandervrc eat carbs (this can be oatmeal, banana, whatever you prefer) no more than 1 hr before gym time, and start taking an iron bisglycinate supplement. give it two weeks see how you feel

 

[texasdriller]

@alexandervrc This was happening to me and it turned out my iron stores (not just RBC but ferritin) were crazy low. I only found out because I eventually got really sick. I eat very balanced and healthy. I was told my anemia is not due to my diet.

 

[autumn16]

@alexandervrc Yes, I was feeling like that and discovered I had iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is measured with ferritin, and if you haven't had labs done recently I'd definitely recommend it. Absolute deficiency is ferritin under 30, but you can have symptoms of iron deficiency with or without anemia with ferritin much higher than that.

Have you had bloodwork done recently? If so, take a look at your labs. I went thru 2 docs that weren't very educated on iron deficiency without anemia, but the science is all easy to find and read to see what's normal and what's low.

Symptoms can include brain fog, memory issues, cold hands and feet, restless legs at night and poor sleep, feeling lethargic, heat palpitations. For me, I'd feel incredibly lethargic for 2-3 days after intense exercise.

 

[rootsandwings]

@autumn16 Good call! I too experienced what OP describes. Turns out I was ferritin deficient and had Hashimoto’s.

Get your ferritin levels checked, OP. As well as a complete thyroid panel the includes fT3, fT4, and both types of antibodies.

Low ferritin has been proven to be a root cause for some people to develop Hashimotos (Auto immune hypothyroidism)

ETA: American thyroid lab ranges are grossly out dated. I’m attaching a graph that shows what optimal ranges are for thyroid health.

https://preview.redd.it/v5whmjf2cpx...bp&s=e37c9862c6f1d78f9ca1889738572e7149102cb2

 

[autumn16]

@rootsandwings Yeah and I didn't mean to imply that low ferritin is the only possibility, sounds to me like they just need to get to the doctor and get some labs done to begin with. I have learned from experience that it's up to me to learn how to interpret labs and make sure that numbers are where they should be for optimal health. Even when it says you are "in range" that does not mean that it's a healthy range or that you won't have symptoms of excess / deficiency in some bodily system.

 

[godsgrace101]

@autumn16 You had anemia or not?

 

[autumn16]

@godsgrace101 Nope, diagnosed with iron deficiency without anemia.

 

[godsgrace101]

@autumn16 Ok interesting, do you remember what was your ferritin level?

 

[autumn16]

@godsgrace101 Ferritin was 29 when I had labs in December. Under doctor supervision I started the Iron Protocol minimum dosing for my weight, which was 200mg a day of elemental iron with 1,000mg vitamin C, and got it up to 91 on March 1 (about 90 days later).

 

[godsgrace101]

@autumn16 Wow that's interesting. 29 is often considered normal and many people are around these levels. My ferritin is ~50 since I started to drink tea/coffee out of my meals but I dont feel better than when it was ~30

 

[autumn16]

@godsgrace101 Under 30 is considered absolute iron deficiency, with or without anemia, and under 100 is considered functional iron deficiency.. The linked study explains further and also that you are correct that there are many people in these ranges in the population.

29 is considered normal by doctors who don't understand the role of iron in the body and who simply look at accepted lab ranges. Unfortunately this is really common. I have joined the iron protocol group on Facebook which has 100,000+ members, many of whom have labs in similar ranges and similar stories of doctors dismissing concerns about persistent fatigue, depression, hair loss, restless legs, poor sleep all sorts of symptoms that are strongly correlated with iron deficiency.

Iron isn't just for building blood cells, it's also a cofactor in all sorts of bodily processes, included serotonin and dopamine synthesis. Dopamine and serotonin as you may know are involved in all sorts of things from learning and attention to feelings of well-being. Everybody responds differently to deficiencies, but many people don't even realize that they're deficient because they're in the "normal range" and many of the symptoms like fatigue and brain fog can have multiple causes.

 

[godsgrace101]

@autumn16

This is derived from randomized cardiovascular clinical trials such as the FAIR-HF trial [5] and the CONFIRM-HF trial [6], where intravenous iron supplementation documented therapeutic efficacy based on this definition.

It seems that this level of 100 is only valid when you have a chronic disease. In this case, patients with heart failure. Inflammation is known to artificially increase ferritin value.

See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8002799/figure/F0001/

Unfortunately a level of iron higher than 100 isn't necessarily healthy in the long run, when you dont have chronic disease. But maybe I do have a hidden chronic disease and then I may try to increase my ferritin levels up to 100 and more to see if there's a difference, thanks for your answer.

You're right about doctors who dont know anything about iron deficiency and blindly trust the lab ranges.

Curiously my ferritin levels started to drop when I took a multivitamin (with a meal), containing zinc and calcium. Otherwise it was always around 50. I advise against taking a multivitamin with a big meal, only with a small amount of fat if needed.