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wink
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:19 pm GMT +0000    Post subject: z's Reply with quote

Doc, For about a week now I've been sleepy all the time. I took all week off last week after comfort and was sleepy anyways. I raced this past weekend on the road, but feel sleepy and need to start training. So is it my eating that I'm going wrong...what kind of nutrients do I need to consume or what do I need to do-thanks wink
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The Bike Doc
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:42 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

wink:

It is almost hard not to pass up an opportunity to pun on your nick name here but I shall...

When excessive day time sleepiness intervenes with your life, you have to consider several factors, some of which may be concurrently going on. Illnesses such as a viral infection may drag your body down and increase your sleep requirements to heal and recuperate. Overtraining can not only make you have excess daytime sleepiness, it can make you more susceptible to infections. Your collegiate studies and training time requirements could well be encroaching on your sleep time and making you chronically sleep deprived. If you find you sleep longer on weekends when you have no racing or training obligations, it is likely your body is trying to recoup some of its sleep deficit. Something that can be quite helpful is a sleep diary over the next 1-2 weeks. Note what time you go to bed, approximately what time you fell asleep after going to bed, any awakenings and duration during the night and what time you awoke in the morning. You may find yourself running a chronic deficit. Young adults need 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night yet often squeeze by on only 6-7 hours then pump in the caffeine to make it through the day and late night study sessions.

You ask what supplements I recommend. First of all let me recommend two supplements that should be looked at seriously. First and foremost, if you are running a sleep deficit, it is time to make some serious deposits in the sleep bank. There is no better supplement for sleep deficiency than sleep. Look at your schedule and take some serious assessment of what is highest priority for your long term life and choices what needs to be trimmed. Supplement number one, more sleep. Supplement number two is something you should actually de-supplement in your life, caffeine. Yes, get rid of the caffeine. Our modern sleep deprived society wrecks havoc on the sleep wake-cycles with the never ending spiral of the mind-body being excessively sleepy because of sleep deprivation which is then countered with the stimulant caffeine to get the mental alertness to make it through the overbooked days and nights. Caffeine disrupts the sleep cycle, decreasing the amount of time spent in the deep sleep cycles delta wave sleep and increases awakenings during sleep. It is during the deep sleep that the body does much repair and recuperation. Decaffeinating yourself can often lead to more restorative deep sleep. Caffeine is in many drinks such as Red Bull, Sobee, many sodas, teas, regular coffee, chocolates and dietary supplements.

A well balanced diet is in order, which I suspect you pursue already. If you desire to take any additional supplements, keep it simple, just take a reputable manufacture multivitamin such as Centrum™. I strongly discourage taking additional dietary supplements. Up to 30% of dietary supplements can be tainted with undesirable and potentially harmful substances including anabolic steroids, barbiturates and ephedrine.

Most important, seek medical attention if your symptoms worsen or do not improve. If there is an underlying illness causing your excess sleepiness, you will want to get it diagnosed quickly so appropriate therapy can be instituted. Low thyroid levels (hypothyroidism), low levels of cortisol (Addison’s disease), blood disorders including anemia and leukemia as well as acute infections can be associated with excess tiredness.

Thanks,
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Anonymous
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:56 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

I gotta chime in here...

I am 3 months "dry", without caffeine...

My training has gone ballistic, my Blood Pressure averages 6-10mm lower, and my wife (whose first name is "Doctor") says I sleep MUCH better.

I LOVE my coffee, but it's all "unleaded" now Very Happy


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:46 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can being sleepy also be a precursory sign of dehydration? It was really humid the last couple weeks... I noticed myself getting sleepy and I train much less than Wink. By Sunday I was experiencing some pretty strong symptoms of dehydration.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:55 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

First off if you ride 3hrs a week you train more than me right now. I'm off the caffine for 2 years and have no carbination(no soda pops) I just feel real low right now and when I raced i could feel strong but I'm just sleepy. Maybe cause no sun has been out, no? -wink
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CR66
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:05 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

In Germany, a lot of people complain about what we call "Fruehjarsmuedigkeit"

it's a seasonal tiredness related to Spring: here are two translated article about it: this is computer translated, so it may not all make sense.



http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.natuerlich-heilen.de/texte/obertal/2002/fruehjahrsmuedigkeit.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfruehjahrsmuedigkeit%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D


http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.tee.org/tipps/fruehjahrsmuedigkeit.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dfruehjahrsmuedigkeit%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
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The Bike Doc
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 11:14 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anonymous wrote:
First off if you ride 3hrs a week you train more than me right now. I'm off the caffine for 2 years and have no carbination(no soda pops) I just feel real low right now and when I raced i could feel strong but I'm just sleepy. Maybe cause no sun has been out, no? -wink


wink:

With your being off caffeine, and hopefully not getting any hidden caffeine in your diet from suppliments, focusing on something acute going on is important. As we have been on Daylight Savings Time now for almost 4 weeks, it is unlikely that the sleep time adjustment is the issue but it still may be a factor for you. As there is excess daytime sleepiness, do look at your sleep activity over the last week and the up coming week or two to see if you are missing critical sleep. As you are training less than 3 hours a week (but racing 2-3 hours a week) over training may be less likely but if you are suffering from an acute illness it may be more than your body can recover from. As this is something that seems to have developed over the last week or two based on your original post, an acute illness may be at issue here. Visit with your doctor.

Thanks,
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Anonymous
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:00 pm GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

The two things that increase my daytime sleepiness/fatigue are stress and back pain. When I'm stressed out for a few days, it really saps my energy. The same goes when I have a really bad muscle strain in my back (upper or lower).

I'm dealing with the second cause over the last few days. I crashed hard last Thursday, straining my upper left back (trapezius) and fracturing the second rib below my left clavicle, not far from the sternum. Most movements cause pain, and this has fatigued me much more than expected. I had to cut my weekend road rides down by 40-50%, thanks to the fatigue. I'm not sure if I'll be able to race Double Lake, but I'll know more by Friday night.

So far, I've felt wiped out every day since the crash.
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The Bike Doc
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Location: Corpus Christi and Warda, Texas

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:13 pm GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tig:

It is likely the back pain and fractured rib are also disrupting your sleep, robing you of the deep delta sleep and REM sleep you need to feel adequately rested on arising in the morning. Give your body time to heal, it is highly unlikely your body will be ready for Double Lake, don't let your mind trick you otherwise. There is always another race and another season.

Thanks,
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Nathan Winkelmann
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:20 am GMT +0000    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, I think a lack of sun and just being sleepy got me in the dumps. Went and rode a little yesterday and it was sunny and I had some z's up in me! Feeling better, thanks for the help. -wink
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