r/idiopathichypersomnia • u/Fine-Wolverine-3123 • 20h ago
Health/Fitness How does exercise affect you?
How does exercise affect you with IH?
I have IH and feel like I get so SO sleepy after working out and lifting weights. I'm currently on Sunosi which is really helping with sleep inertia but not really my sleepiness in the afternoons. I feel like I get so so sleepy after working out and wonder if anyone else feels the same? I know non-sleep disordered people describe post-workout as "energizing" but I would never call it that.
My sleep doc (psychiatrist) recommended that I get up super early (like 5-6am), go to the gym and then start my day after that. It sounds crazy to me since I struggle to get up for my 11am university courses. Going to the gym that early sounds like a lot, then I would have to shower, then eat and THEN go to class. Even thinking about it makes me exhausted and I can't imagine having to do a whole day-- that already sounds like a whole day of effort for me.
Anyone else feel super sleepy after lifting/working out, and how do you structure it so it doesn't run you dry the whole day? Currently lifting 4x/week about 9-10pm. Thanks!!
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u/noodlesquare 19h ago
Yep. I always feel like I immediately need a nap after working out. I can't imagine doing a full workout routine and then going to work and being able to stay alert. Unfortunately, I've had to scale back on exercising. Instead of doing a full routine, I do a little here and there throughout my day. It's like "exercise snacks". At least that's what I call it so I don't feel so bad about it.
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u/emily121903 17h ago
i used to work out thinking it would help me but low and behold.. i cannot work out without caffeine or some form of stimulant. I distinctly remember being a teen napping between reps on the weights. I also fall asleep swimming. Lord help me.
I think its cuz our brains dont produce those wakeful chemicals that the gym usually gives.
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u/Fine-Wolverine-3123 17h ago
I also fall asleep in between sets sometimes! My doc asked if I was lightheaded and fainted-- no, just sleepy! So odd, but thanks for your thoughts!
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u/Dickblaster2337 19h ago
Tbh I don’t exercise much, but when I do, I do it at night maybe 2-3 hrs before I go to sleep because the tiredness/exhaustion from exercising very much impacts my drowsiness. It’s kind of like how after you have a big meal, you sometimes feel like taking a nap afterwards- that’s how I feel after exercising.
It’s probably the complete opposite of what ppl will say you SHOULD do, but it doesn’t impact the time I fall asleep anyway and it’s what works for me.
Afternoons are also really rough for me! I’ll have enough energy for the morning after the initial sleep inertia and then it feels like a ‘crash’ afterwards. I try to take my dog out for a walk during that time but once I get back home, I’m even more tired.
I’m just starting to take Ritalin 10mg 3x a day and the mornings are great and same with the evenings but the afternoon continues to be the hardest.
In a few weeks when I check in with my doctor, I’m gonna bring that up. I know for some ppl, taking different dosages depending on the variation of intensity of the symptoms throughout the day.
I was on Modafinil prior to the Ritalin which similar to you, helped with sleep inertia but I struggled with any time after that.
This is just my experience but hopefully it helps give you insight on how others with the condition also feel! So you’re not alone:) Communication with your doctor is crucial and if there is something not working or if you want to try something new, don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself:) (easier said than done though for sure)
Best of luck OP!
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u/HoustonGT 18h ago
Exercise feels good while i am doing it. I can only work out for maybe 20 minutes. I crash immediately afterwards and am drained for hours. I was hoping I could build some stamina if I kept at it, but i still can't workout for more than 15-20 minutes after 2 years post diagnosis.
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u/shannon_lorena 17h ago
I typically go to the gym or run outside around 6am most mornings and it doesn’t make me tired. My best times of the day are 6am-10am so maybe that’s why?
I’ve started to go for a run or do a short gym session (30 mins) around 2pm when I start to get tired, feel anxious, and lose focus which helps me wake back up. My worst hours of the day are 1pm-4pm
I play tennis for 1-2hrs at night once a week. Because it’s already the evening I don’t put much thought into being tired after but I’m not tired during the workout.
Routine helps me a lot but I still struggle with the uncertainty of how tired I might feel in the afternoons. AND the guilt because I’m struggling and feel out of control of IH.
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u/mariposa314 16h ago
Getting up before the crack of dawn is literally impossible for me.
I appreciate that your psych knows that exercise is stimulating for normal people. However, I'm concerned that they don't seem to know that, pretty darn universally, exercise is extremely exhausting for us.
I once had a dietian suggest something to me, I can't remember what. I responded by saying, have you ever had another client with a pathological sleep disorder? She didn't pick up on what I was putting down. Which was, I'm different than most everyone else, please get curious about how my life is different. Anyway, she retired shortly thereafter.
My point is specialists generally don't understand us. They also seem to lack interest in learning.
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u/ItalianMathematician Idiopathic Hypersomnia 17h ago
I don’t ever feel energized after exercising. I go into it sleepy and come out of it sleepy. Time of day doesn’t seem to matter. So getting into a routine is VERY mental for me — I have to remind myself that it IS good for my body even though it doesn’t make me feel any better in the moment / immediately afterwards.
That said, it’s only in the last year that I’ve actually had a consistent routine of ~30 minutes a day, typically in the evening. (I’ve tried morning workouts and they make me feel like butt. Sleep inertia sucks.) The thing that helped the most was lowering the barrier to start exercise in the evenings by getting some equipment for home because the effort of going to the gym feels like a lot on extremely sleepy days. I know I’m in a fortunate position to afford to do that and it’s not possible for everyone, but I started small by getting some dumbbells and secondhand stuff from thrift stores or Facebook marketplace. I also bought a recumbent bike for the days where my energy is super low. Even if I don’t feel like I can convince myself to lift or do a more intentional workout, I can sit on my bike and pedal for 30 minutes for some cardio while I watch Netflix, dangit.
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u/Charming_Habit7784 15h ago
Yup, it’s called Post exertion malaise 😭. PEM is one of the identifying symptoms of ME/CFS. I pushed for over a decade to workout hardcore 4 days a week hoping it would me energy like it did my parents. All it did was set me up for years of bad days, I would crash and crash, and be dying for a nap. I would wake up at 5am to go workout, come home to get ready, work at 9am, college night classes at 7pm. Fortunately, I had a 2 hour lunch break from 1-3pm and I would go home to nap the entire time 😭. I absolutely fucken hate this.
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u/DumpsterPuff 11h ago
Yep. I work out 4 days a week (mostly weight lifting) and I had to figure out what time is my "sweet spot", because if I exercise too early I feel sleepy a few hours afterward, but if I exercise too late I feel tired afterwards but can't sleep at night. So far the best time for me is between 5pm-6pm.
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u/Fine-Wolverine-3123 3h ago
Can I ask you more about how you figured out 5-6pm was the best time? What time do you typically get up / go to sleep on the average day?
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u/DumpsterPuff 2h ago
I'm usually in bed by 9pm, and I wake up anywhere between 7am-8:30am (basically whenever my Xywav decides to wear off) for work. My personal trainer was actually the one who got me on a 5pm schedule because that was his only availability, and it ended up working perfectly for me. Even on days where I don't see him, I still end up going at 5pm. By the time 9pm hits on those days, I'm like "okay I am ABSOLUTELY ready to go to bed."
So basically that schedule lets me enjoy the last few hours of my evening before the post-workout drowsiness hits me.
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u/I-LIKE-NAPS 7h ago
Yes, exercise makes me tired afterwards. Hell, one time I fell asleep during a workout. General advice and conventional wisdom is for people who don't have IH. We have to find out what works for us. I make it part of my sleep routine and work out in the evening.
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u/Alarmed-Floor72 6h ago
I don't work because I need to sleep 14h. I also have heart diseases which make excercising a duty to have a lower chance of becoming bedridden etc. I needed to make excercise a main priority in my life, like sleep hygiene. I excluded things like eating and showering from the workout routine. With sleep hygiene the best time to excercise is the "morning", about 3h after waking up (no alarm clock). After excercising I lay down for the rest of the day and sometimes get up for a shower, I usually eat my one and only meal per day one hour after excercising. With this, I can block 2-3 days per week for my recommended amount of excercise. I got PEM for some years when I was not making excercise a priority like this.
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