Training & Nutrition - Recovery naps

Whenever I do a long hard ride I seem to need a nap afterwards. If I'm exercising for less than 2 hours I don't usually need one. However, when I ride 2 or more hours at a time I need at least a 30 minute nap to feel better. If I skip the nap I get real cranky and feel like I have no energy. The lack of energy can even carry over to the next day. When I take the nap I always seem to feel refreshed and great afterwards.

When I did a cross-state tour in June (OK FreeWheel) I noticed I wasn't the only one napping after my daily ride. Actually it was one of the enjoyable things I remember about the tour. My friends and I would get up in the morning and ride at a hard fast pace to the next destination so we could get first pick on a good camp site. Then after setting up the tents we would all find a shade tree and take a good nap.

I tried something different on Saturday that made me question why I was always needing a nap. I spend 5 hours on my bike Saturday. When I got home I was about to lay down for a nap when my wife talked me into trying some basic Yoga stretching first. After stretching I felt quite a bit better. I lay down for my nap only to wake up about 10 minutes later feeling pretty good. So now I'm wondering if a nap is really what I have been needing?

Is a nap a normal part of recovery? My wife is trying to tell me it's because I'm getting old! (I'm 42 this month) but I don't believe that is the primary reason.

Anybody have any ideas or simular experience?

i usually feel the need of a nap after a longer workout. i dont usually take them because i have never been very good at just sleeping for 30 minutes or so, my naps tend to last 3 hours.
i think a lot of professional cyclist include naps as part of there training routines.

Shoot, I always nap when I get the chance. If I do a hard workout, I do a nap too. I've been doing the nap thing for years since college. So you can tell your wife it's not an age issue. It's just a need to recover, that's all.

I loooooooove love love going to countries like Mexico and Italy, where they have siesta time and everyone goes off to do whatever- you can walk down the street in the middle of the day and see folks napping under trees. Of course, they're a bit more physically active there, so they may need the rest! Still, I think they're on to something- we could all use some naps in the middle of the day to get rejuvinated for the rest of the day!

Hey - naps work for the Army!! (I love naps - but always wake up after 10-15 minutes :mad: )

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/apfri/chapter_6.htm

TAKING NAPS: A NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL MEANS FOR INCREASING OR IMPROVING SLEEP

The term nap generally refers to any sleep period outside of the main sleep period. Napping can constitute an excellent strategy for increasing total daily sleep time, so long as the individual actually sleeps during the napping period. Substantial benefit is derived from even small amounts of sleep. Figure 6 shows that after 72 hours, individuals allowed only 30 minutes per day to sleep, or a total of 1.5 hours sleep during the 72-hour period, performed nearly 25% better than subjects getting no sleep at all. The daily 30-minute nap in those individuals was extremely concentrated and thus efficient. Subjects spent nearly the entire 30 minutes in deeper sleep stages, with almost no time awake or in stage 1 sleep.



Thus even short bouts of sleep will improve performance. Thirty minutes of sleep per day reduces the rate of cognitive performance degradation from 25% per day to 17% per day. However––to repeat–– the key is that a nap must actually consist of sleep, either stage 2, single wave, or REM. Also, as long as they contain equal sleep amounts, several short sleep bouts will be just as restorative as one long sleep bout. Although quiet rest during wakefulness may make the individual feel better, it does not restore or sustain mental operations. Overall it is recommended that individuals sleep as long and as often as needed to obtain 8 hours of it.

Whether a nap will be beneficial depends upon such factors as timing and noise, light levels, ambient temperature. Factors affecting sleep are outlined in Table 1.

Although post-sleep performance impairments or "sleep inertia" may occur upon awakening from a nap or any sleep period, such grogginess is of relatively short duration and usually dissipates within 20 minutes. Under most circumstances, the benefits of sleep will far outweigh the short-term risk of impaired post-sleep performance.

Originally posted by DnvrFox
Hey - naps work for the Army!!

Hey thanks! That's good enough for me! Next time my wife gives me grief over it I'll show her this!

like to have little nap before midweek training (30mins) and after hard races at weekend.

think it does the trick...

Sleepiness is also a sign of dehydration.

Hey, I'm 42 and love to take a 30 min nap after my Sat. Sun. rides.
During the week I usually go to work.
I do various yoga stretches after most of my rides and I am usually well hydrated so I'm not sure about those being factors.
?????

Hmm I always need about a 60 min nap during the afternoon, the tiredness usually hit me at 1600 hours sharp :)

Seriously you are not the only one taking a nap, I usually do it before I ride though. And there is nothing wrong with taking a nap once in a while, it's your body's way of recovering and charge the batteries.

Sometimes if I'm really fried after a long ride, especially on a warm day, I love to conk out in my air conditioned bedroom. It's great!

All of your posts have been encouraging. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who needs as well as enjoys a good nap!

Thanks! :)

Actually I took a nice nap yesterday. I was really fried and it was also overcast and gloomy in the afternoon. I read the saturday paper, then I got into bed in the nice, airconditioned bed room. I closed my eyes thinking, ahh.. this is so nice. Then I passed out and woke up about 90 minutes later. It was like I was in a coma!

Krispy,

I 've also had the same experience. Later in the day after doing over 2hrs on the bike I've been getting low grade headaches and get sleepy so I'll take a 20 to 30 minuite nap. I've been concerned that the headaches are from dehydration so I've been extra careful to stay hydrated by drinking both water an accelerade while riding and drinking gatorade or the equivalent after the ride. The headaches have gone away but I'm still getting the urge to take a nap -- and I hate naps!

You and I are about the same age so I hope its not just 'cause were getting old.

Good luck and go Sooners

Jim

Originally posted by memphisjim
You and I are about the same age so I hope its not just 'cause were getting old.

After reading the replies here and also talking to cyclist friends I no longer think that it is an age thing. Remember how they had a mandatory nap time in kindergarten? That was my favorite subject! ;)


Originally posted by memphisjim

Good luck and go Sooners

:D