I'm having a but of a rough time, and I'm wondering if anyone can relate.
I'm a lawyer with a long commute, so hours are long. I've found that the only time when I can do dedicated training rides is early AM and weekends.
So I've been going to bed at like 10-11, getting up at 5am, having a coffee, riding 18-30 miles, then getting in the shower and going to work. During the ride I feel awake and strong. Over the past few months I've seen big improvements in my ability. In the morning I'm able to push myself, concentrate on technique, and work towards my goal of racing next season. I have a protien shake with milk, some high fiber cereal, a banana, etc. for breakfast.

But: by the afternoon I am deleriously tired. If I sit for too long my eyelids get heavy. I am near falling asleep at the wheel when driving.

Coffee doesn't really help; even if it did I don't want to develop an addiction.
Commuting by bike is not an option.
I should probably check in with a doctor about it.

I feel like I should be able to handle this at my age (29) and fitness level. Maybe it's a blood sugar thing, I don't know. Any suggestions other than the ones above are appreciated

Has anyone dealt with this issue?

Are you not eating enough during the day?

I guess im not sure. My girlfriend has one of those body-bug things that tracks how many calories you burn. I don't really know what my daily calorie intake should be....maybe I'll borrow the thing and see how much I'm burning in the morning.

Aaah,

go to bed @ 11 up @ 5... so 6 hrs sleep per night, and not exactly sedentary life style. I would try sleeping a little more. Exercise and your body builds itself while you rest, so you need rest time.

I also get up at five to ride, but I go to bed at nine, I agree w/ JaceK- you need more rest/sleep.

I also agree that it sounds like a lack of sleep.

Wow. Trying to exist on 6 hours of sleep a day is catching up to you. Seriously.

As for the timing - you mentioned breakfast but what do you eat after breakfast and before you start to feel sleepy in the afternoon? What kind of morning snack, lunch, and afternoon snack do you eat?

You should be eating every 2 or so hours. Diet should consist of good balance of protein, carbs, good fats. I can do 6 hours of sleep but I'm 21. You may be pushing the envelope a bit, but I think you could do it with a proper diet/eating schedule.

Being 21 has nothing to do with it. Most adults need 7-9 hours. Teenagers need a little more. Some people can do fine with less, but the number of people who actually do fine with less is much smaller than the number of people who claim they do fine with less.

Alright, you're probably right. I got by on 3 hours a night for a few months in 2008 while still hitting the gym every morning. No idea how. Wasn't sustainable.

As for the OP, inactivity during the day probably isn't helping either. I run into that sometimes. Try walking around at lunch time? I tend to drink a lot of water for a few reasons, including so that I get to walk to the BR a lot.

For 22+ I have been getting up at 0500 to do PT (physical Training) running, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. What I found that helps is eating a snack before & after lunch, something that will last but low calorie like an apple, banana, etc. Also, 6 hours of sleep is part of the problem, you need more sleep. It doesn't get any better with age, I am 47 & still suffer low energy in the afternoon. 7 to 8 hours a night will make a big difference & you can't make up for a lack of sleep.

This may sound strange but drinking cool water throughout the afternoon seems to peep me up too. It might be just me but I feel more alert & it gets me ready for my after work ride. I hope this helps, good luck...

I just had a substantial dinner and about 4pt of water, and I pepped up a bit.
For a while I was having protien shakes as 2 meal replacements and a high protien lunch. This was while I was trying to drop weight. But I've been going harder since then.
I've always been good about drinking a lot of water.
Maybe it's the sedentary nature of my profession as well. Sore legs at a desk, maybe it's pulling all the blood out of my head. Drinking a lot of water forces me to get up often.

Drive til you're about 10-15 miles from the office. Then ride the rest of the way. Same on the way home.

Now you can wake up at least an hour later, problem partially solved.

And as others have stated, you're going to bed too early. If you get a van with curtains, you can shag your gf during lunch break rather than in the evening. Another 5-10 minutes saved.

Eat a bigger breakfast and like everyone else says, more throughout the day. I ride 25 miles every day at least, and on Fridays, I eat one or two large pizzas. When you ride 18-25 miles daily, your body can burn almost anything you put in it.

...and you NEED MORE SLEEP. Six hours ain't enough.

You mention a few items you eat like you might eat those regularly, and if that is the case then I wouldn't be surprised if you eat the same things for many of you meals. It's convenient especially if you are keeping an eye on such things. Problem with that however is that it becomes easy to overlook getting certain things in your diet that is very important for anyone with an active lifestyle, such as iron. Anemia can cause tiredness and fatigue.. It is probably worth your time to give your PCP a ring and get some lab work done to check for that.. and considering you are almost 30 and likely under a lot of stress from work too, a physical isn't out of the question either. Anyway, hope you feel better soon.

More sleep, more post ride carbs. : )

I'm a little surprised that you can't seem to make the connection between being sleepy every afternoon and the amount of sleep you are getting at night.

It's not about your job, your diet, etc. Six hours is not enough for most people. Crashing in the afternoon is a classic symptom of fatigue from not enough sleep at night. The other things may contribute to when and how hard you crash, but overall you are putting yourself in a sleep deficit.

Try going to bed an hour earlier for a while and see if you feel more awake during the day. You may find it hard to fall asleep at first, but stick with it.

And, not to distract you from the obvious solution (get more sleep), it doesn't sound like you eat enough during the day. Protein shakes instead of meals? A big dinner? The big dinner could be why you are alert in the morning despite not getting enough sleep, but your lack of food during the day could be why you crash in the afternoon.

You should also try eating small but frequent meals - breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Each meal should include a balance of protein, carbs, and good fat. If your body thinks it's starving, it's going to contribute to your fatigue.

I lived on 6 hour of sleep a night from 2005 to 2009 ... and numerous other stretches of time prior to that (1982-1988, 1994-1998, etc.). 6 hours isn't bad ... it's the times when you've got to live on 4-5 hours of sleep for several weeks that really catch up to you.

That said, since I moved to Australia I've been getting 7-8 hours a night, and do I ever feel rested!! So much so that when I go to bed at night, it often takes 15 minutes or more to fall asleep.

Yes, it is a function of what you are doing for the other 21-22 hours off the bike.
I ride at 5:30am for 90+ minutes each day plus 3.5+ hours each day of the weekend.

I also manage to play 2 or 3 hockey games a week, coach both hockey and baseball....
And work full-time and all the other responsibilities that come with being a married father of 3.

It is a fine line you are walking (riding)

It is possible to sleep 6 hours and feel refreshed at my age (45+) but you need to catch up when you can.
Naps? Days off?

I don't crash during the day and I am go go go all day long.... maybe it's the profession you chose (hey, kidding)

Not sure if it is possible with the kind of work you do but taking some nap at noon time could do a miracles.

i dont know what your home situation is, but what also works miracles is the "30 minute power nap". when i'm starting to feel down for prolonged periods, i sneak in a 30 min nap right after work. i set an alarm and stick to 30 mins exactly. it prevents me from entering deep rem type sleep, but lets my body "recover" from the day. it's shocking how much more energy you'll have if you make a habit of this.

try this, trust me, it works miracles. its like a "sleep supplement" for those of us who dont get enough sleep at night.

Your schedule is similar to mine (I'm 30), my volume is more like 3-4x a week at 20-30 miles though. If my weekend schedule gets too far out of wack and I don't catch up on sleep, I feel it the next work week in the afternoon. More rest, more food (more often) and see how you feel.

do you not eat anything before you cycle?
I mean, it could be the lack of sleep, but I'm 20 and have averaged about 4 hours of sleep/day, 10 hours of work/week[eh, college is out and those are the most I can get] and 1 hour riding/day[I ride on a trainer and generally mid day or at night].
I like to ride later in the day because while my body is not worn out or anything, I've eaten and drank properly throughout the day.
sleep is not even really as important as some make it out to be, especially as you get out of your teens and head towards your late twenties and beyond.

Now that the summer is here I'll be riding at 5:30am and when I make that transition I have to sleep earlier otherwise I end up feeling tired and sleepy during the afternoon which isn't good on days packed with meetings. I've been going to sleep earlier in general and feel much better.

For me, anything less than 8hrs of sleep a night and I start struggling. I can do 6-7hrs for a night or two and then it creeps up on me hard. Truthfully, I perform best at work and on the bike when I get 9hrs of sleep consistently each night.

I work about 50hrs a week and ride about +/-200mi a week. You factor in mowing grass, doing laundry, drive time, paying bills, other yard work, cleaning the house and whatnot - and it is tough getting enough sleep. I imagine it would be even tougher if I had kids or was married.

There are times you just have to make sacrifices on what gets "cut" - are you going to mow or ride? spend time with the girlfriend or sleep? It is a tough balance at times.

Anyway.. I suspect that if you work on getting 8-9hrs of consistent sleep a night at a consistent time each night - you will see big improvements at both work and on the bike.