Sleeping 10+ hours after heavy training

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Is it normal to sleep deeply for 10+ hours after a heavy day of training, or should I set an alarm to wake up and eat? Am I losing gains by sleeping, rather than eating?

Thank you.

2

It’s probably not directly related to the training and, like most things, is more complicated. Other contributing factors include sleep debt, mood, alcohol use, medications, etc.

I don’t think you’re missing out on gainzZz from not eating for a few extra hours.

3

I want to follow up on this and ask if chronic stress can dysregulate cortisol levels, and how to recover. I don’t snore, but I’ve had chronic stress due to a mood disorder for years, which affects how I feel when I wake up. I feel foggy for hours. Recently, I read about how bright light can for 30 minutes in the morning can help reset dysregulation that occurred. I stepped outside this morning and felt a lot better, and have noticed that sunlight does take away the fog.

Mayo Clinic says: "The long-term activation of the stress-response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that follows can disrupt almost all your body’s processes. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems, including:

  1. Anxiety
  2. Depression
  3. Digestive problems
  4. Headaches
  5. Heart disease
  6. Sleep problems
  7. Weight gain
  8. Memory and concentration impairment" Can you tell me a little bit about what dysregulation is exactly and its mechanism (in short)? Is it the HPA axis that’s affected? Does sunlight help? Thank you!
4

Not really, no.

Sunlight can be beneficial for lots of things, but I think getting the mood disorder under control- in addition to regular exercise, dietary changes, and other preventative health care behaviors is the best option here.

5

This is day 3 of waking up at the same time every morning and going for a 30 minute walk in the sun. I feel better, and I did try waking up at the same time every day before, but it didn’t work for brain fog because I suspect it had something to do with being indoors where there wasn’t enough sunlight peeping through. Now I get tired earlier at night.