Been doing that for years on and off particularly if I late before bed. I just accept it and roll with it. Doing just that now actually. In bed 3 hours ago and now wide awake doing this. I'll sleep in a short while then get up for the day.

I stick to the routine of going to bed at roughly the same time and getting up the same time. Mostly it works sometimes a few days in a row it doesn't. Maybe stop overthinking it and just go with it.

1. No evening workouts.
2. No caffeine, chocolate, candy/sugar, sports/energy drinks after 2pm in afternoon.
3. Reduce life stress, family, work, social, etc.
4. Consistent bedtime every night.
5. No radio/tv distractions while sleeping.
6. No computer/phone interaction 2 hrs. before sleep time.

Early morning awakening is a symptom of clinical depression...not saying you are depressed, but it's something to consider

7. Have more sex

With myself or someone else?

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

It may sound counter-intuitive, but not being able to sleep may be a sign of over-training or that you're ramping up volume too quickly. If you're new to the tri world but doing two workouts a day, this may be the issue.

Did you come from another endurance sport? Even with a run background (3-4x a week), my first year in tri I found it tough to go more than 5x workouts per week.

Good one.

Thank you everyone!!

I've been a runner for years and have never had this problem...usually raced every weekend. However there has been a significant increase in my workout volume recently as far as quality workouts.

I'll try to limit my evening workouts this week and see if I notice a difference.

Thankfully it hasn't affected my sex life at all ;-) but I will be mindful of a few other things previously listed!

Thanks again!

Valerian root tea

Eliminating electronic devices help me before bed (1 hour min) though I am a chronic offender. There are studies on how electronics (specifically blue light) mess up your inner clock. http://www.health.harvard.edu/...ight-has-a-dark-side

I do evening workouts just fine, I am not sure that's the issue as you say you can fall asleep you just dont sleep very long.

You could also try mindful meditation practice. I've found that after many years of struggling with sleep I can use mindful meditation to quite my mind and fall asleep. I had a sleep clinic doctor say to me

"Take sleeping as serious as other ventures in your life, it's not just the interlude between doing things"

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I agree…I'm terrible about being on computer/phone before bed. I'll also try to limit that. Ive heard many times that it will mess with the inner clock!

This is pretty much what I do. Sometimes, you can't avoid having a late workout (for me, it's usually swim because of pool hours), just make sure you don't have an early morning workout the next day, or it will suck big time. Also, I do watch TV from time to time right before bed with wifey - I'd rather have a less then perfect night of sleep than no family life.

Melatonin, valerian, etc. can help you fall asleep faster, but they won't correct sleep patterns. Similarly, I tend to avoid having more than 1 glass of wine (not that I drink much to start with, I just keep it low all the time). Alcohol will get you asleep, sure, but you won't have a good night of sleep because of it.

As others have said, it might also be a sign of overtraining.

Eat a lot

Like you…I do not drink much but wine does help me sleep better from time to time! I agree that melatonin, valerian, etc. will not correct the problem which is why I really do not want to start taking something or depend on something to assist me. I'd like to correct it naturally if possible.

Ive mentioned the sleep issue to my coach a few times this week however he thought it was just the change in training. (bike/swim volume are new) He suggested that when I initially wake up to eat a snack. I haven't tried that yet because I am never hungry when I wake up.

Try supplementing ZMA. I don't take many supplements, but this one helps me sleep deep and wake up feeling refreshed.

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J. Tyler Pate

Look up the software "flux," it will eliminate the blue spectrum from your monitor and can be set on a timer to coincide with sunset.

sounds like overtraining, late-stage adrenal fatigue

Adrenal fatigue...interesting...today my coach mentioned cortisol levels

I have had over 30 years of sleep even worse than you. After seeing several sleep therapists, it was finally thought (I won't say diagnosed) that the constant pain I'm in, was causing me to wake 3-5 times every night. (I've had multiple skiing and cycling accidents leading to 38 broken bones so far, among other injuries). There's not much that can be done about the pain, unless I want to end up like Michael Jackson (pain killer junkie) so I put up with it.

In the end, I made all the lifestyle changes I could (many mentioned here already) but that didn't seem to help much. Then finally my doctor tried me on Melatonin. It's a prescription med here in New Zealand. It's not government subsidized and the importer is screwing us royally. It's $2 per tablet! yes you read that right, $2 per tablet.

It worked so well that I was just about to get on a course of it so I could sleep. Then my doctor advised that it's available over the counter in the US. As I was already going to the States, I picked some up while there. I got over 1000 tablets for about $20 US!!!!!. I had some trouble importing them (lotsa paperwork basically) but eventually got to keep them.

Melatonin is a naturally occurring sleep hormone (in layman's terms). 1-2mg is the recommended dose (more is not better) and the weakest I could find was 3mg so I got those. Research shows that you can't use it all the time (I use it about 1/2 the time) as you build up a tolerance, and side effects can affect some people. Depression is one of the possible side effects and there is a history of depression in my family so I'm keen to stay away from the dark monster.

Like you I'm not keen on taking pills, but a good night sleep is such glorious reward that I overlook that. The net result is that my life is 10x better when I take Melatonin than when I don't. I mix it up how I take it. Some weeks I alternate nights, some times it's 3 days on, 3 days off. Other times it's 2 weeks on and 1 week off. I vary it so I don't build a tolerance and to match my life schedule and requirements.

If you make all the recommended changes (no caffeine later in the day, no late workouts, resting before bed time etc etc,) and still have problems, maybe give melatonin a try. For me, melatonin has been a life changer and now I'm a convert. Some people (my mother for example) claim no effect. I'd suggest you give it a try, if it doesn't work, stop taking it. If it works then you get to decide the benefit/drawbacks for you and make your choice.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

yeah ... when i heard all the symptoms, brought to mind when i read phil maffetone's big book of endurance training, where he talks about the various stages of overtraining. so might be something to look into

Have a baby. You will be so tired that you'll be able to sleep any chance you get.

I may have started a little on the aggressive side…its my competitive nature. I'm going to make some adjustments this week so we shall see!

Like you I've got a long history of sleep issues and tried just about everything. Glad melatonin works for you. It definitely didn't for me. It gave me some freaky scary dreams. I now use a sleeping pill about once a week to ten days. It only gets me about 5-6 hours of solid sleep but what I do is have it on my nightstand and take it when I wake up in the middle of the night after 3-4 hours of sleep. It's not ideal but I'll live with it in exchange for a few good nights.