Thread: Insomnia and Weightlifting

hmmm maybe you can do a 2 or 3 day a week full body routine? So on your days that you get enough sleep you can lift. And the days you don't get enough sleep you can prolly just make it a cardio day or something. did you ever try that since this only happens a couple nights a week?

Lifting to get big is not what I do at 46. I started lifting again to heal recent years of back problems. Getting big was a side product. In my situation the extra 40lbs equals snoring that keeps my wife awake. She in turn wakes me up and says, "Lay on your stomach or your side!" That disrupts my sleep. That's nothing now that I here how you feel.

I had a sense that I needed to take control of my problem and I did. I have a demanding life but I make myself go to the gym. It's hard until about 20 minutes into the workout. I always feel great after I go. When I don't I feel like I let myself down. I don't like that feeling so I make myself go.

I struggle with insomnia also. So does Kelju, another member of this forum. I have been on Ambien for 6 months now. It works great to help me get a good nights sleep. After about 3 months of ambien I noticed I was getting really depressed. Was this Ambien? Or was it that my whole life has changed so much, i.e, Had a kid, got married. Either way I kept working out through it. Working out really has helped me get back to loving something again. It seems like you may have a form of depression or anxiety. Maybe go see a doctor. Although they will probably just put you on some anti-depressant. I read a good book about learning to sleep again. It's called "desperately seeking snoozing". It was written buy a guy who struggled with sever insomnia for 10 years. He is now able to sleep again. Also remember, 8 hours of sleep is a general number. A lot of people can function just fine with 6 hours of sleep. You just have to find what works for you. Good luck!

I ran into this a few years back. Actually, my case involved symptoms more resembling restless leg syndrome (which I don't think should qualify as a medical condition)...just a general "antsy" feeling that would keep me awake for an extra hour each night. I found that 5-HTP helped a great deal.


5-Hydroxytryptophan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good luck.

Friend-

Work out hard and give it all you got. Try lifting in the morning HARD. Circuit training work best for me. If you can't sleep at night, maybe your not training hard enough. Im 32 years old and when I train/lift/workout I ive it my all so when I go to bed I night...my ass is worn out!!! There is no pillow left unturned for me. I hope this gived some insight.

Working a near full time job since HS, and currently during the same while attending full-time college, I have had problems with insomnia off and on for years.

A featherbed comforter, a turbo fan, and an endless supply of GABA has been my ticket for quite a while now.

What time are you working out?

Originally Posted by Moze

I'm 40

...However I feel I'm deeply unsatisfied with my career, partly because it is not a career I chose, but one that paid the bills. Changing careers at this age, with so many bills, doesn't seem wise. I think this is the real reason for my insomnia.

And I really feel depressed except for the period after lifting, when I feel the endorphins kicking in.
Thanks.

Okay, so I scanned through this too quickly. I now change my diagnosis to very low-grade depression that could be attributed to both typical clinical/internal and external stressors (dissatisfaction, work stress, general self actualization stuff) and resulting fatigue that is both a symptom and a contributor....everything compounds on itself. Been there, done that.
Take a break, let yourself off the hook...tweak your diet, and change your job. Yes, this sounds rediculous, the market is unstable, but isn't your well-being worth the gamble? Not sure how spiritual of a person you might be, but you may want to tap into that area, whether through church, meditation, walking through the woods talking to trees...whatever helps you focus and relax, lol. Hang in!

Originally Posted by cc-10

hmmm maybe you can do a 2 or 3 day a week full body routine? So on your days that you get enough sleep you can lift. And the days you don't get enough sleep you can prolly just make it a cardio day or something. did you ever try that since this only happens a couple nights a week?

Thanks for the tip CC!

Originally Posted by Doublebase

I struggle with insomnia also. So does Kelju, another member of this forum. I have been on Ambien for 6 months now. It works great to help me get a good nights sleep. After about 3 months of ambien I noticed I was getting really depressed. Was this Ambien? Or was it that my whole life has changed so much, i.e, Had a kid, got married. Either way I kept working out through it. Working out really has helped me get back to loving something again. It seems like you may have a form of depression or anxiety. Maybe go see a doctor. Although they will probably just put you on some anti-depressant. I read a good book about learning to sleep again. It's called "desperately seeking snoozing". It was written buy a guy who struggled with sever insomnia for 10 years. He is now able to sleep again. Also remember, 8 hours of sleep is a general number. A lot of people can function just fine with 6 hours of sleep. You just have to find what works for you. Good luck!

I will definitely check the book out. Maybe I will try the Ambien as well.

Originally Posted by 240PLUS

Friend-

Work out hard and give it all you got. Try lifting in the morning HARD. Circuit training work best for me. If you can't sleep at night, maybe your not training hard enough. Im 32 years old and when I train/lift/workout I ive it my all so when I go to bed I night...my ass is worn out!!! There is no pillow left unturned for me. I hope this gived some insight.

Ok. I will kick it up a notch. We bought an Alaskan malamute puppy a few months ago, so now I am walking/running with him too.

Originally Posted by brk_nemesis

Working a near full time job since HS, and currently during the same while attending full-time college, I have had problems with insomnia off and on for years.

A featherbed comforter, a turbo fan, and an endless supply of GABA has been my ticket for quite a while now.

This is the first I've heard about Gaba. I will start eating more complex carbs, that are known to boost Gaba levels, and maybe I will start taking L-theanine. Increadible.

Originally Posted by IainDaniel

What time are you working out?

Well my job is 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 M-F. I'm a finish carpenter. So I always work out at about 4:30 p.m. I walk the dog in the morning before work at 5:45 a.m., so there really isn't anytime for the weights in the morning. I suppose I could work out before the walk, but the gym isn't open that early, and my free weights at home would be too loud. Besides, I really should be sleeping at that time. It is unrealistic too go to bed earlier; I have 2 children.

I thought about the fact that working out in the late afternoon could be contributing to the Insomnia, but I never have trouble falling asleep. It is always the early wake up variety. I'm pretty sure this is a psychological problem as opposed to a physical problem. I appreciate your thought.

Originally Posted by DaMayor

Okay, so I scanned through this too quickly. I now change my diagnosis to very low-grade depression that could be attributed to both typical clinical/internal and external stressors (dissatisfaction, work stress, general self actualization stuff) and resulting fatigue that is both a symptom and a contributor....everything compounds on itself. Been there, done that.
Take a break, let yourself off the hook...tweak your diet, and change your job. Yes, this sounds rediculous, the market is unstable, but isn't your well-being worth the gamble? Not sure how spiritual of a person you might be, but you may want to tap into that area, whether through church, meditation, walking through the woods talking to trees...whatever helps you focus and relax, lol. Hang in!

I am halfway done with a computer science degree, yet I haven't been in college since 2001. I fear if I go back and get the degree, I will have spent all that time studying, and not spending time with the kids, and I will finish the degree and really make about the same amount of money, as I do right now. But I have obsessed about this very idea, for the last decade.

I want to thank all of you for taking the time to reply. It's fantastic hearing your suggestions, and I'm going to try them all. Just when I thought I had tried every angle, I now have learned new strategies from you.

Thanks again

Originally Posted by DaMayor

Okay, so I scanned through this too quickly. I now change my diagnosis to very low-grade depression that could be attributed to both typical clinical/internal and external stressors (dissatisfaction, work stress, general self actualization stuff) and resulting fatigue that is both a symptom and a contributor....everything compounds on itself. Been there, done that.
Take a break, let yourself off the hook...tweak your diet, and change your job. Yes, this sounds rediculous, the market is unstable, but isn't your well-being worth the gamble? Not sure how spiritual of a person you might be, but you may want to tap into that area, whether through church, meditation, walking through the woods talking to trees...whatever helps you focus and relax, lol. Hang in!

is there anything OTC that can help with this so called low-grade depression? I actually probably do suffer from this, as I can get pretty depressed about my life sometimes. Now bear in mind, I was a successful network administrator who gave up my career to be a stay at home dad as my wife happened to make more $$$ than I did and we didn't want to go the day care route. Well, let me tell you, raising kids at home is the most thankless, annoying, boring, mundane, crazy, stressful, etc, etc, job you can do (of course awesomely satisfying, gratifying, and amazing at the same time), but just the day to day grind of changing shit diapers, llistening to crying and whining and yelling every single day, being somewhat trapped in your own house, can really get to you. there are times I really need to get away and I can't, and that makes things worse, but I don't want to change the subject here.

I was illustrating that I probably do suffer from some form of depression, especially with this winter and not being able to go outside with the kids.

So, does anything work for this?

I struggled with Insomnie since me early teens. For the majority of my life I was sleep deprived which aggravates the issues which caused the insomnia in the first place. This can turn into the snowball from hell if you don't seek treatment.

The neurochemicals that control your sleep are only replenished while you sleep. It has to be healthy non-interrupted sleep.

Do you have health insurance? If you do, go have a sleep study done, and get on a drug that works. It can change your life.

I waited way to damn long before seeking out a neurologist. I have been on the same drug at the same dosage for more then 3 years now. I get a full 8 hours restful sleep everyday. The impact has been tremendous.

If you get on a drug that doesn't work well enough for your satisfaction, try another. I tried 4 or 5 before finding the one that works. Now I could kick myself in the ass for not doing it sooner.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I struggled with Insomnie since me early teens. For the majority of my life I was sleep deprived which aggravates the issues which caused the insomnia in the first place. This can turn into the snowball from hell if you don't seek treatment.

The neurochemicals that control your sleep are only replenished while you sleep. It has to be healthy non-interrupted sleep.

Do you have health insurance? If you do, go have a sleep study done, and get on a drug that works. It can change your life.

I waited way to damn long before seeking out a neurologist. I have been on the same drug at the same dosage for more then 3 years now. I get a full 8 hours restful sleep everyday. The impact has been tremendous.

If you get on a drug that doesn't work well enough for your satisfaction, try another. I tried 4 or 5 before finding the one that works. Now I could kick myself in the ass for not doing it sooner.

so a neurologist would do the sleep study? go straight to a neurologist and leave out the primary care physician if possible?

i remember the last time I complained to my primary care doc about trouble sleeping, he gave me a 30 day supply of ambien and prescribed lexipro to me. WTF? I took that stuff for 2 days and stopped because it gave me excruciating headaches. I would love to have some good sleep meds right about now, I can't even tell you the last time I got 4, 5, or 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep, let alone 8. Of course, you don't have kids, so you have the luxury of getting uninterrupted sleep, but truth be told, they don't bother us every night, so even if I could get 3 out of 7 nights a week of solid 8 hour sleep, I am sure my life would be totally different. I am positive all of my irriatable behavior is due to lack of sleep.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I struggled with Insomnie since me early teens. For the majority of my life I was sleep deprived which aggravates the issues which caused the insomnia in the first place. This can turn into the snowball from hell if you don't seek treatment.

The neurochemicals that control your sleep are only replenished while you sleep. It has to be healthy non-interrupted sleep.

Do you have health insurance? If you do, go have a sleep study done, and get on a drug that works. It can change your life.

I waited way to damn long before seeking out a neurologist. I have been on the same drug at the same dosage for more then 3 years now. I get a full 8 hours restful sleep everyday. The impact has been tremendous.

If you get on a drug that doesn't work well enough for your satisfaction, try another. I tried 4 or 5 before finding the one that works. Now I could kick myself in the ass for not doing it sooner.

I went to the sleep center, to see about doing the overnight test, and even with insurance, it is 1000.00. I just didn't feel I could spend that much. But now with so much work missed....I guess it is worth it. Thanks Kelju.

By the way, I've been up since 2:00 a.m. this morning. A total of 3 hours of sleep last night.

Originally Posted by Moze

I am halfway done with a computer science degree, yet I haven't been in college since 2001. I fear if I go back and get the degree, I will have spent all that time studying, and not spending time with the kids, and I will finish the degree and really make about the same amount of money, as I do right now. But I have obsessed about this very idea, for the last decade.

I know exactly where you're coming from. I've spent the last six years operating my business, a good bit of the time without any sort of paycheck, and often wish I could get back some of the time I missed with my son. However, even with all of the troublesome stuff I've dealt with, I still think it's still important to consider the benefits of going after long term goals. Besides, kids are impressively understanding in the long run.
I think a lot of the "what if" and "why didn't I" and "what the heck am I doing" stuff is just a natural part of being no-longer in one's twenties, and having the wisdom to question one's motivation....not such a bad thing, really. Just cut yourself some slack...if working out helps, go for it. If you need a break, take it.

I just checked with the sleep clinic that I live near, and with a ppo 40, the cost is 1300.00, and the insurance pays up to 80% of that. But I still have to pay a 250.00 deductable. Initial consultation is 300.00, which they apply to the deductable. So I'm looking at 250.00 + 260.00 (the supposed amount insurance doesn't cover) at best. So 510.00...not as bad as I remember.. I just made the appointment.