Sleepy After Runs

Audio Transcript

Coach Claire Bartholic: Hi everyone.

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Today’s question is about being sleepy after runs and it comes from Monica.

Monica: I’m 42 years old from Victoria, Canada. I started running about six months ago. I run once every seven to ten days as part of an overall fitness to stay in shape.

I work out including running for every three to four days a week. When I don’t run I do TRX and circuit training.

My question is why do I feel sleepy after I run? What causes it? What can I do to not feel sleepy? Any tips? Thank you.

Claire: This is an interesting question Monica and the answer could be a combination of things. The first and most obvious answer for why you are sleepy after a run is that you are not getting enough sleep.

The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep every single night and the vast majority of people in Western culture do not get nearly enough.

Sleep not only repairs and refreshes the body physically, but our brains take the time to process the events of our day.

Without adequate sleep a whole host of health problems begin to stack up as the body cannot keep up with all the damage that we do to it during our waking hours.

But if you’re sure that you are getting plenty of sleep let’s look at some other potential causes. You didn’t mention when you work out.

Let’s say that your night owl and you naturally feel most awake in the evening hours but for whatever reason you schedule your runs early in the morning.

Running should normally make you feel energized not sleepy but if you are running at a time of day that goes against your body clock, then it’s not unusual to feel sleepy afterwards.

I would also like to point out that there’s a difference from being sleepy after running than being tired.

While an easy run that is well within your athletic capability should make you feel better afterwards, harder, longer or faster runs will generally tire you out and that’s completely normal.

Even the most season athletes will feel fatigue after a tough run, but that doesn’t mean that they’re feeling sleepy. In fact, for most people it’s quite difficult to fall asleep immediately after a hard run.

Perhaps since you are new to running and don’t run that frequently, you’re running a bit harder than your body would like for each run.

The vast majority of beginner runners run far too fast most days yet not hard enough on the other days to truly push themselves.

It could be that the sleepy feeling is your body’s way of signaling to you to ease up a little bit.

The next thing to look at is your nutrition.

Are you eating enough calories to fuel your training? Do you run on an empty stomach? Do you use caffeine before running? These issues can contribute to a sleepy feeling so be sure that you are fueling your body well to support your activity.

That doesn’t mean you need to stuff yourself with a big breakfast and then run out the door with a full stomach but, you might try eating a banana or a piece of toast rather than running on empty and see if that helps a little bit.

Don’t forget to eat something carbohydrate rich after your run to keep your energy up. A piece of fruit and a handful of nuts to supply the carbs with a little protein to replenish your muscles after a workout is a great idea.

That doesn’t mean you need to overdo it since we all know that too much food will make us sleepy, but a light snack can help with your energy levels.

Sometimes runners feel sleepy because they are simply running too much too long or too often Monica, you didn’t mention how long you run each time, but only running once a week or so, is certainly not too often.

It could be not often enough for your body to adapt to it. You said that you’ve been running for six months about once a week to ten days so that’s about three to four times a month.

While that is perfectly fine for health and getting in shape especially when you want to mix it in with other activities that you enjoy, it’s not exactly ideal if your goal is to become better at running.

What you are experiencing now during and after your runs is certainly much different than what you would feel after years of running several days a week.

Once your body is adapted to running more often and that definitely takes time a short run that used to be exhausting will soon become little more than a warm up for you.

The next area to explore goes back to nutrition. You could have an undiagnosed deficiency that’s causing your sleepiness.

Some possible culprits could be low levels of iron, B12 vitamin D or there could be some underlying health issue that’s causing your sleepiness.

So, if none of the earlier ideas that I mentioned seem to be getting at the cause getting your blood worth checked with your doctor is a next good step.

Well I hope that helps Monica and you figure out a way to stay energized and refresh after your next run.

And that’s it for me for the Extra Kick Podcast for this week. I’ve had a great time inspiring your questions to help you run and train better thanks so much for listening. Have a great run today.