Greetings! I'm curious if any other cyclists out there battle with sleep disorders, in particular, Narcolepsy and hypersomnia. My Dr. says my diagnosis is a toss up between the two, but since they are treated the same way it doesn't really matter. I'm trying to lose weight and have recently taken up cycling, but am having a heck of a time getting on the bike and putting in some miles... just too damn tired. Anyone else have this problem? Any coping strategies?

Edited to add:

We are actually selling our house and moving closer to town/work b/c of my sleeping issues. I find I just can't make the 50 mile round trip anymore without falling asleep, especially as the week progresses. We're trying to find something within 10 miles or so of work so I can commute on my Trek... Hopefully it will be difficult to fall asleep on my bike :)

Never heard of this but I usually get around 5-6 hours of sleep every day. On weekends I get about 8 hours. I am always sleepy. Working from 7-5 and then going to school from 5-10 then studying from 10-12 has its toll

I usually feel fairly awake on my bike so I never had that problem. One day I studied through the night for a final and did not sleep. I barely made it to work and we had a huge meeting. I was putting 100% into not falling asleep. I barely made it home and passed out.

Is there medication for your disorder?

They are experimenting with various types of meds right now... Provigil and Ritalin being the main culprits... I have an appointment with the Dr. Tuesday to see about bumping me up into some serious drugs... amphetemines and the like.

The worst thing about it is my doc says I have hypersomnia with insomnia... to me that sounds like saying someone is a vegetarian who eats meat :)

long ride= good nights sleep

That may not be so. Sometimes I've been phyisically exhausted but yet couldn't sleep. There is a psychological component in many sleeping disorders which may include stress, anxiety and other causes.

That's how I feel every night onbike... I'm exausted all day... I guess the easiest way to explain it is with mono... If you've ever had a bad case of mono, that's how I feel all day. For some reason my body wakes up aroun 9 at night though and I can't get to sleep until around 1 or 2 in the am, at the earliest. If I go to sleep early (6, 7 in the evening) and sleep until morning I feel like absolute crap. Maybe I'll just get a light and start riding late at night :)

I don't sleep well either. More often than not I can be found wondering my hallways at 2 and 3 AM. I have never tied it to cycling though. I wonder if there is a connection. Dr. has me on some medication for restless legs... as a result, I no longer experience the "crazy leg" thing, but I still don't sleep :rolleyes: . 4-5 hours at most and that is only if I do not have to get up in the morning.

If you have a true sleep disorder, riding a bike (even to exhaustion) won't help much. I speak from experience. I have sleep apnea and a severe case of "restless legs syndrome." Losing weight (doc says lose a minimum of 20% of present body weight) may help with the apnea. Until I reach target weight & get another sleep test, I have to use a CPAP machine at night. For the restless legs, the only thing that has helped is a drug called "Mirapex." Although it works for me, it may do nothing for you.. Sleep disorder study is still in the dark ages compared to other areas of medical science IMHO. At least one of three persons under the age of fifty will have a sleep disorder at one time or another (according to my Dr.'s statistics). This rises to two out of three for people more than 50 years old. Some things you may try that help some folks: Take a melatonin pill before bedtime, take a magnesium maleate pill before bedtime (relaxes muscles), take aspirin instead of tylenol or ibuprofin (I don't know why..), avoid both exercise and large meals within three hours of bed time.

Don't take your sleep problems lightly - loss of sleep can severely impact your work, your relationships, and your health. Good luck!

It's amazing how many people don't really understand the importance of that statement! I'm a bit overweight and have what my doc called 'linebacker's neck'. He was almost positive I had apnea or restless legs, until after my sleep study and we found I slept like a baby... It wasn't until I took the MSLT that he discovered there was something really wrong.

It's a good idea not to exercise too late at night. Exercising too late can make you have trouble sleeping.

With me it's insomnia, mostly getting BACK to sleep after waking up.

I went back to my doctor yesterday and am sad to announce my plans for an '06 TDF victory will have to be postponed... They've put he on amphetamines now, so my career as a professional athlete is temporarily on hold :)

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I feel like I need to stretch my legs. It only takes about ten minutes and afterwards I feel relaxed enough to fall back asleep.