Sleep

[Sami]

Nothing new here, just got a really good personal demonstration as to why sleep is so important for recovery. Due to various reasons, I only had about 6-7 hours sleep over a 48 hour period. At the end of that 48 hour period, I then pulled a complete 'all-nighter' without a single wink. There was a gym session in the middle of all that, which wasn't too bad. Not intense and no PRs, but not a disaster session.

But the all-nighter followed the session, and since then I've had intense DOMS that I just never get anymore. Like a complete detrained noob kinda DOMS. Fucking sucks.

I got about 6-7 hours last night, and I feel better. But it's not enough to recover from all that crap before, and I'm still sore and weak. I'm skipping today's session, not due to recovery, but other reasons. I probably need another day tbh.

Go sleep (with?) people.

[ColoWayno]

Dammit, get some sleep Sami!
I'm in a situation where we are required to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. A lot of guys in my shop sleep 5 or 6 hours per night. They laugh at me because I'm almost always in bed with the lights out for about 9 hours, sometimes a little more. But, there's really NOTHING else to do here. On nights when I work out, it's a little bit less, but usually 8 as a minimum. Even when I'm sleeping 9 hours my greedy body usually wants more once the alarm goes off in the morning.
I've gotten into the habit of taking a single Benadryl before I hop in the shower at the end of the day. This usually puts me right out.
It's funny, you can't find a single sleep aid in the BX/PX, but there are all kinds of pills to hop you up, not to mention truck loads of energy drinks, some you can get for free at the DEFAC. Guys in my shop drink at least a half a dozen of the free energy drinks during the day.
The "off-label" use of Benadryl is pretty common here I think.

[DaveSev]

I like Melatonin. Cheap, won't get you hooked (it's okay to use for extended periods of time, so when you stop using you won't have trouble falling asleep).


I also don't tend to get much sleep when I'm sleeping with someone...hmm. Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

[famendoza]

My own personal experience is that sleep is just as, if not even just a bit more, important than eating. At least for the training I do (5/3/1)

[MazdaMatt]

Colo, my wife bought over-the-counter sleeping pills and I read the label on everything. The ingredients were exactly 2 benedryls. They may dissolve differently, but it is the exact same chemical, 2x the mg.

[Geezer]

I´ve got a new GF that enjoys keeping me up all night, it´s a nice problem to have I suppose but my monday workout really suffers, it affects my eating too. Sometimes I´m not sure how u guys balance everything.

[Sami]

I'm hoping 8 hours tonight will set things right for tomorrow.

I dunno if ZMA is working well for me. I noticed an effect the very first night of taking (dreams, and woke up AWAKE, before the alarm went off, felt fine), but no noticeable difference since then. And I've had on/off days. I mean, I know for it to work best I still need to sleep a decent amount, but I've had some 6 hour nights on ZMA and didn't notice anything.

[fnet]

I´ve got a new GF that enjoys keeping me up all night, it´s a nice problem to have I suppose but my monday workout really suffers, it affects my eating too. Sometimes I´m not sure how u guys balance everything.

I guess after nearly twenty years of marriage, my wife understands the importance of a good night's sleep so I never have that problem.

[Chewie_jrc]

I guess after nearly twenty years of marriage, my wife understands the importance of a good night's sleep so I never have that problem.

How "understanding" of her

[kittenSmash]

I don't know, I rarely get 8hrs of sleep, maybe on a friday night sometimes. About 6 average. Seems to me (in my experience) that my caloric intake was more important to keep progress going. I would like to sleep more, but I've gotten along fine so far. I can see it making more of a difference as I get older (only 25).