milchad

I thought I was pretty prepared for yesterday's ride. Ate all the right stuff, and was very well hydrated. Only thing missing was enough sleep. (Only got about 5 hours the night before). Anyway, when people started dropping the hammer on the final leg home, my calf started locking up. (I drank 2 bottles of Gatorade and 1 gel pack during the ride BTW). So, anybody else notice cramps due to lack of sleep?

JoeOxfordCT

I thought your post was about leg cramps during the night while you're sleeping......

Straight salt works for me for my leg cramps...both during a ride and at night before I go to sleep if I suspect I might get cramps during the night. I did the endurolytes thing and several other remedies but salt for me works the best....and also happens to be the cheapest too ! Stretching before & after rides as well as before bed too if I've had a hard ride that day.....

milchad

No cramps at night, just when I was putting the hammer down yesterday. I'm trying to pinpoint what might have caused them considering I thought I covered everything else nutrition-wise.

JonnyV

I average 4 hours a night. The night before last I got an hour and a half of sleep. Went for a quick 20 mile ride before and felt great all day. Been an insomniac since I was 19, you get used to lack of sleep.

milchad

I'd kill over if I got that little sleep. Anything less than 6 and I don't feel right. 7-8 hours is perfect for me.

JonnyV

nahh, after a few weeks your body gets used to it. 8 hours is too much sleep for me now. I can get that help from sleep meds. but then I drag all day. Just don't try to use booze as a sleep aid, you won't get quality REM sleep.

artifice

I used to get charley horses first thing in the morning- stretching in bed, and OMG were they painful. I'm wondering if your leg cramps are similar... at any rate, I narrowed mine down to a mineral imbalance, and taking a multivitamin a day has wiped it out.

The_Spaniard

have you kept in mind when u get less sleep you body needs to intake more food?? for me when i have to pull all nighters or stay up late studying, i know my food intake pretty much tripples. Did u do a warm up then stretch? that could also cause cramps. i dont see you gettin cramps from not having enough salt as u did say u drank gatorade which has a good amount fo salt in it. i say eat a bit more when u dont get as much sleep and make sure u do a warm-up fallowed by a good stretch right before you start your ride.

Donegal

Lack of sleep causes all kinds of things. I need 7+ hours of sleep also if I am going to be worth a damn. Some people an get away with less, I never could. I run at a much higher pace than any of my friends 90% of the time. If you cut my sleep, I lose stamina. I went on a ride last weekend, an easy long one, turned out around 94 miles. After around 60 miles my knees and ankles started to ache. I never have to deal with this on a normal basis. I blamed it on lack of sleep last week. I had 3-4 bad nights and really paid for it physically. Yes, I totally believe your cramps could be from lack of sleep.

milchad

Thanks guys, I figured that had something to do with it considering I covered everything else. Hopefully I won't have issues like that in the future. I was dying to sprint but my f'ing calves wouldn't let me.