Hi

In a way to try to fit training into family and work (god forbid it ), I often do an evening ride of 1.5 hrs where I tend to go pretty hard. That`s is a really nice day way to finish the day, but it often gives trouble falling a sleep. I usually come home around half past nine and some times I don`t fall a sleep before 1-2 at night.

Any body got some good advice on how to knock yourself out??

Thanks

With fear of stating the obvious, do you take any caffeineted drinks or gels while riding?

_________________
Planet-X Nanolight HM - 5.63kg

I only drink water for such a short ride, so no caffein or energy.

My teams time trail night always has me having difficulty sleeping after I have raced. Other than that I train in the morning and no issues sleeping. I think the issue is it takes your metabolism a while to wind down. Train in the morning.

_________________
-For my next trick I will set myself on fire!
-This board and the world in general would be a much nicer place if everyone could just take themselves a little less seriously.
-Sticky Fingers John Rockefeller
-First one over the cliff wins!

adrenaline perhaps?

Do you eat a meal after the ride? Digestion in the stomach will take place for 2-3 hrs after you ate. So going to sleep might be difficult right away. It also depends on type of food and amount.

_________________
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

i am not big on sleep meds, but 1mg of melatonin is my go-to sleep aid (some folks need up to 5-10mg). start with a lower dose and see how it affects you.

Uh bad advice the meds route is always a bad route.

_________________
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

Watch a video tape of a flat stage in the tour. Thats always been known to put me to sleep.

uh overgeneralized response.

melatonin is a naturally occurring substance in humans....i know that may not disqualify its use in your terms as a "med", but i don't think suggesting it qualifies as "bad advice" either.

or maybe the melatonin i took last week is making me hypersensitive.

A lot of things are naturally occurring. Take hGH for example. Naturally occurring and you can buy it as well. But is that good for you? If it's naturally occurring let it naturally occur.

Unless it's prescribed by the doctor to cure some kind of disorder or imbalance there is no need to take it.
There are more natural ways to solve a problem.

_________________
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

Hmmm. Can't sleep immediately after strenuous exercise. I guess that makes you human...

Most likely it's that your heart rate is still quite a bit above your resting rate as your body is trying to recover from the ride.

Try doing a longer cool down of your ride (20-30 min) and don't stop until you've gotten your heart back to a zone 1-2 level. You can also try keeping your heart rate monitor on and simply doing about 5 minutes of yoga style breathing about a half hour or hour after you've finished riding and see if that makes a difference.

If all else fails, just drink loads of beer

It is physically impossible to die of a melatonin overdose and it has zero toxic side effects. Its literally one of the safest things you can put into your body.

_________________
Don't take me too seriously. Super Six Evo Hi-Mod

Melatonin is generally considered safe when used short-term and within the recommended dosages. There is no research on the long-term effects of melatonin supplements, particularly in higher doses.

Some experts consider the doses commonly found in melatonin supplements, 3 to 5 milligrams, to be far too high and say that amounts in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 milligrams are more reasonable.

Melatonin side effects may include drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, headache, irritability, vivid dreams, and a temporary reduction in attention and balance. People shouldn't drive or use machinery for several hours after taking melatonin. Melatonin may cause abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting, lower blood pressure, and rarely, hallucinations or paranoia.

Melatonin may increase the risk of blood clotting, so it should not be used by people using warfarin (Coumadin), other medications that influence blood clotting, or by people with clotting disorders.Melatonin influences the production of other hormones. It could theoretically interfere with normal sexual development, so it shouldn't be used by children unless they are under the supervision of a healthcare provider. For the same reason, it shouldn't be used by women who are trying to conceive or by pregnant or nursing women. Increased male breast size and reduced sperm count have also been reported. Melatonin may also affect insulin levels.

Melatonin can influence immune function and it's not known how it affects people with autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and type 1 diabetes.

Melatonin supplements may worsen the symptoms in people with depression, so people with depression should only use melatonin under the supervision of a health care provider. Melatonin is broken down by the liver, so people with liver disease should avoid melatonin.

I think I'd rather adjust my training cycles.