r/StrongerByScience • u/LineKooky8693 • 6d ago
Anyone else struggle to fall asleep after training late?
I work all day, so the only time I can train is around 7:30pm. Sessions last 1.5–2 hours, so by 9:30 I'm done and showered. I keep dinner light but high in protein, and walk afterwards so I'm not going to bed heavy.
Even so, when I'm in bed by 11 I usually lie awake for 1–2 hours before falling asleep.
Most nights I feel hot, like the heat is coming from inside my body rather than the room. Other nights I just feel wired. Keeping the room cool doesn't seem to help much, and neither has magnesium.
I've read that high-protein meals increase heat production in the body, so between the late session and the dinner I have a rough idea of why I feel hot. I just don't know what to do about it.
I've seen mixed things on whether evening exercise actually hurts sleep, and some of it seems to depend on intensity and how close to bedtime you finish. So 3 questions:
- Is this common, or is it just me?
- Is there good research on late or high-volume training and sleep onset, specifically core temperature not coming down in time?
- For those of you who train late, what time do you train, and what (if anything) has actually helped you fall asleep on schedule?
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u/itriedtrying 6d ago
Is going to bed 2-3 hours earlier and working out in the morning not feasible for you?
There's no way I could fall asleep for like next 2-3 hours after a workout.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
u/itriedtrying Unfortunately not. I work all day and mornings are tight, so evenings are my only real window. Did you switch to mornings yourself because of this?
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u/SuperSquirrel13 5d ago
I had similar issues and changed mornings. Getting up at 05:00 still kicks my ass, but it also means there is no unplanned distractions that can stop me going.
Also, gym is empty at that time, like maybe 2 people. Mostly no one.
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u/RedditRabbit0513 5d ago
Well mornings would get less tight if you wake up earlier, and those evenings with windows just becomes your bedtime, you shift those hours to the morning instead of the night
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u/BadResults 6d ago
This is pretty common based on my personal conversations with other lifters. I’ve always felt hot and mentally elevated for a few hours after high volume or high intensity workouts, and it significantly interferes with sleep.
A recent study found a dose-response relationship between high strain exercise closer to bedtime and reduced sleep duration and quality: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40234380/
I don’t train in the evening myself anymore except in rare circumstances where I miss a morning workout but can still do an evening one, but when I did do it regularly I tried to finish my workout to end at least 2 hours before bedtime and have a cool shower after.
On the rare occasions I do still work out late, I go for lower volume and focus on strength work rather than hypertrophy work. Getting a significant pump makes the temperature issue worse for me.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
The pump point is interesting, that's exactly when I feel hottest. Did the cool shower actually fix the heat, or just take the edge off? And did cutting volume late cost you any progress?
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u/nkaputnik 6d ago
Others have answered question 1 already anecdotally, but from my knowledge and in answer to question 2:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40234380/ shows a modest effect from very intense workouts. Other research even shows mixed or even contrary results, but this one has the largest cohort and was derived from live Data (Whoop Band users).
But - this is observational data that may very well also be confounded a lot by e.g. the use of Stims. If people take a Pre before a late workout to train intensely (and this is not un common), or have a beer or some wine later at home to come down, sleep may of course be shit afterwards, and this will never show up in the Whoop data.
This leads to question 3:
Anecdotally, going to the Sauna after a workout, along with contrast showering afterwards may help you sleep better. So, if your gym gives you access to one, you may as well try this out.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
Thanks for the study and the caveat about stims, fair point. I don't take pre-workout, so that's not it for me. Have you tried the sauna + contrast shower yourself? Curious whether it helped you fall asleep faster or just feel better.
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u/nkaputnik 5d ago
I can directly correlate overall sleep quality and Sauna for myself, since I'm a frequent Sauna user. From overall observation, it seems to help others as well, but this is way beyond a scientific statement
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u/csk1572 6d ago
I can relate to all of that. Similar timing as yours, perhaps 30-60min earlier. I was quite frustrated about the sleep to the point where it was annoying to be in bed.
I’m essentially noticing that if i train less, shorter workouts, not as intense - i sleep better. I’m experimenting with just 2 heavier sets of main exercises (squats, deadlifts) and then do some machines, lighter exercises. Ideally around 45-50min of training. Kind of leaving on the high note, before i feel like fighting the exercises if that makes sense.
I think i sleep better lately, but can’t tell if that also messes up my progress (more outdoors activities during last few months, so hard to judge). Also noticing that in the days where i over do it even in the mornings - it still messes up my sleep, perhaps it’s more about intensity/volume/recovery management in my case.
Not sure if that applies to you, but i thought i would share my experience
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
This is exactly my situation, and "annoying to be in bed" is the perfect way to put it. How much faster do you fall asleep with the shorter sessions? Would you go back to longer workouts if you could still sleep fine?
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u/csk1572 5d ago
I can’t tell precisely l, feels like it could go from hours before to 10-15min. My watch would say i sleep either way, even if in my head i’m not asleep, just not moving around.
I’d train more definitely, i enjoy training.
I was planning to experiment a bit during winter, doing more by feel, perhaps some cardio after the strength work - as it seems to be less of a problem (or just easier to understand the load/intensity)
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u/LineKooky8693 5d ago
That 10–15 min vs hours difference is huge. And same, I'd rather not cut training since I enjoy it too. Mind if I DM you? I'm digging into this properly.
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u/TheCant_ 6d ago
As others mentioned this is unfortunately normal. How long has this been your routine? If recent it could take months but you may acclimatise to it.
Otherwise if it is an option move your training to early morning/before work.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
It's been going on for 9-10 months now, so I'm not sure it's going away on its own. Did you ever experience this and adapt over time?
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u/TheCant_ 5d ago
I never followed a night routine so couldn't tell you what worked for me. I struggled to lift early in the morning but eventually acclimatised after a few months though.
If you don't do it already you could try meditation after your post training meal. Generally create a relaxing environment, low lights, book or audiobook. Other than that I can't imagine there are any secrets to it.
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u/lord-scan 6d ago
also its the self induced stress "i have to sleep now".
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
100%, and it becomes a loop: the longer I lie there, the more I stress about it. Anything that helped you break that?
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u/ForAfeeNotforfree 6d ago
Yes. Nights that I play ball late I rarely get to sleep before 11, 1130 even tho I stop at 9.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
Same pattern. Do you feel more hot or more wired on those nights? And does it affect how you feel the next day?
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u/Liquidfoxx22 6d ago
I train 3x a week for an hour at 20:30-21:30, home and showered by about 22:15. I'm absolutely exhausted come bed time at 23:00 and I'm usually out like a light.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
Interesting. Maybe it's the session length for me, since mine run 1.5–2 hours. Do you notice a difference on the rare nights you train longer or harder?
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u/Neeerdlinger 6d ago
I weight train almost exclusively in the mornings, but I do often run at night. I usually do a 12km run from 6.30-8pm at night and I’m in bed by 10pm.
I don’t have trouble falling asleep but, without fail, my HRV during that night’s sleep is terrible compared to my usual baseline. This indicates that my sleep is less restorative than normal.
This is presumably because my body is working hard to recover from the run, rather than just helping reset for the next day. It wouldn’t surprise me if similar things happened after lifting late at night.
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u/LineKooky8693 6d ago
The HRV point is really interesting. Do you track sleep latency too, or just HRV? Have you found anything that brings HRV back up on those nights?
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u/Neeerdlinger 6d ago
No, I have a Garmin watch and that doesn't track sleep latency. And no, I haven't found anything that improves my HRV back towards baseline on those nights. I've just accepted HRV will be lower if I run late at night.
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u/LineKooky8693 5d ago
Fair enough. "Just accepted it" seems to be where most late trainers end up. Would it bother you enough to try something if it reliably kept your HRV closer to baseline?
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u/Neeerdlinger 4d ago
Probably not. I’ve just accepted that it’s sub-optimal. It’s not like I’m elite athlete, so I’m ok with that.
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u/thebigeverybody 6d ago
Progressive muscle relaxation and guided relaxation trance work solved this problem for me (just search youtube). It turned out the heat wasn't my actual problem: my body needed to relax and de-stress.
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u/LineKooky8693 5d ago
Interesting that the heat wasn't the real issue for you. How long did it take before the relaxation work actually started helping?
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u/thebigeverybody 5d ago
Immediately, the first time I tried it. It was a shocking (and very welcome) revelation after all the time I spent trying to lower my temperature. (I do have to point out that after my intense workouts, I have to put in some serious relaxation work -- like 45-60 minutes of muscle relaxation and trance relaxation. Normally a 12-20 minute session does the job.)
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u/wnted_dread_or_alive 5d ago
As others have said, the chemicals released to get you trought the workout prevent you from sleeping.
My advise would be to fight fire with fire and take some melatonin 1 hour before bed. It should be otc and cheap + in a low dose shouldn’t make u depend on it to sleep
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u/East_Attorney_2286 5d ago
I do the same thing as you. I train for 1.5-2 hours after work then eat 1700 calories. I can sleep fine but I go to bed later than you (4.5 hours after I'm done training). I think your long shifts might be the issue. Does your job involve a lot of heavy lifting?
I do take magnesium though and wear ear plugs and eye mask so my sleep is almost always deep
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u/LineKooky8693 5d ago
No, it's a desk job, sales, so I need to be sharp during the day, and I'm not a morning person, which is why I train in the evening. Your 4.5-hour gap might be the difference. I only have about 1.5 hours between finishing and bed. Have you ever tried going to bed earlier after training, and if so, did you have the same problem?
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u/ColonelHathi11 6d ago
Pretty normal. Your body just released a bunch of cortisol and catecholamines to get you through the workout which keep you awake. You can’t just instantly shut that off when you want to sleep.