Now, I'll admit that going for a long run on Sunday possibly didn't help. I'm thinking that lingering fatigue is a clue that my running shoes are getting old and should be replaced. Or, that trying to go for a "recovery run" on Monday didn't quite work. I understand that swimming can be a no-no for cyclists because it builds up an oversized upper body that becomes a lot of dead weight, but I can't see how running would be detrimental to cycling other than it takes energy and time away from that which could be spent on cycling.
However, I think the leaden legs were mostly due to lack of sleep. I don't sleep well, never have. At some point when young I missed the lesson on how to hit the hay and fall asleep. I marvel at people who can lie down and fall asleep in 10 minutes regularly because I really, really don't understand how they do it. I tend to toss and turn, and typically at least one limb goes numb to the point of near-amputation each night as a contort them into what I hope will be a comfortable position. It's somewhat hazardous when your arm is asleep but your shoulder isn't and you wake up and try to scratch your nose--no brakes (whack!). On the other hand, it's sometimes oddly comforting to hear the sprinklers come on at 3.30am, or to notice that it's light out but I can still lie in bed some more because the 6.30am alarm hasn't gone off, or that my bed just shook a little from a baby earthquake that no one else was awake to feel.
I've collected little wisdom about my sleep habits. I know that if I take an afternoon nap of more than 15 minutes I'm pretty much assured of more sleeplessness. Sugary food in the evening is a no-no as well, so I now give myself permission to have dessert before even cooking dinner in order to give my blood sugar levels as much time as possible to return to normal. Ice cream tends to last a long time in my freezer because I can't really eat it weeknights and, after five evenings of ignoring it and munching on a carrot instead, I tend to forget it.
Maybe it would be interesting to stop by the Stanford sleep lab or something like that and have them hook up a bunch of electrodes to my head as I try to fall asleep in an unfamiliar hospital cot. I wouldn't be happy if they prescribed me pills, though. I get enough chemicals in my bloodstream from work and engineered athletic foods, no need to add any more to the mix. I do think one of the first things I would do if I ever bought a heart rate monitor would be to wear it to bed. I figure a toss or a turn has to be worth a little rise in the bpm's--how many a night? Heck, in general, what is my body doing when I'm not looking? Much more interesting than some alarm going off because I've hit 200bpm or so trying to get up that damn hill on Hicks Rd (ouch).
Need a photo...
7 comments:
I can sooooo relate! most nights I get 4-5 hours sleep -- that's it! sometimes I'm alert enough to work during the wee hours but more often I'm brain dead but can't sleep. when it's important to me I take simply sleep
me three.
never been good about going to sleep. caffeine after noon or daytime naps mean i'm awake until 2am or worse.
however, once asleep, i can be a little bit hard to wake up....
Glad (in a misery-loves-company sort of way) to hear I'm not the only one. Being awake 'til 2am isn't necessarily bad in itself...though it is when you went to bed at 9.30pm. My housemates must think I'm the most narcoleptic person in the world for the amount of time I spend "sleeping" (early to bed, late to rise) but I wouldn't be surprised if I get less sleep than they do...
Mmmm, Simply Sleep = diphenhydramine...better sleeping through chemistry!
I've relented in taking sleep aids when flying on red-eyes, but an instinctive aversion to pills keeps me from using them at home.
How about whiskey? I am one of those enviable sorts who is out in 10 minutes or less most nights (without whiskey). I went through a period of insomnia prior to our St. Catherines Street purchase and it damned near killed me. I do wake up easily as the dogs have me trained to be aware of late-night emergencies...
It seems to be all about turning your brain off. I suspect that mine wants to be off most of the time, so the bigger challenge is turning it ON.
The photo explains so much. Moose swim, and they hardly ever cycle. Hence the disproportionate upper body mass. It's all so clear now.
I tend to stay up quite late, but falling asleep isn't a problem. *Waking up*, now, that's a moose of another colour.
i'm not a club member, unless i'm anxious or upset about something
otherwise,
i can be asleep as soon as i hit the pillow
looking on the bright side, any excuse to eat dessert first is a good thing
and the moose rocks
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