Sleeping habits after exercise can invite sleep inertia, reduce sleep quality, and disrupt sleep hours.
Table of Content
1. Beneficial effects of sleep after exercise
2. Adverse effects of sleep after exercise
3. Causes of drowsiness come after exercise
4. How much sleep after exercise is allowed?
It’s normal to feel tired and sleepy after a high-intensity workout. Sometimes, this condition makes us want to sleep immediately. However, is sleeping after exercise allowed?
In fact, sleeping after an exercise offers several health benefits. Even so, this habit also has some disadvantages that need to be considered.
Beneficial effects of sleep after exercise
There are several effects of sleep after exercise that are beneficial for health, including:
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Supports muscle recovery
The effects of sleep after exercise are believed to support the muscle recovery process. While you sleep, the pituitary gland can release growth hormones. The muscles in your body need these hormones to repair and build tissue after exercise.
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Paying ‘debt’ hours of sleep
Sometimes, you purposely wake up too early to be able to exercise in the morning. This can make you sleep less hours.
Be careful, lack of sleep can interfere with the muscle recovery process, slow cognitive function, and weaken the immune system. As a result, your physical performance can decrease.
Sleeping after exercise is considered to be able to pay off the ‘debt’ of the hours of sleep you use to exercise and relieve various symptoms of sleep deprivation.
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Reduce physical fatigue
Sleeping after exercise can support the recovery process of the muscles used during physical activity. That way, the fatigue you feel can be reduced.
When the body is back in strength, then you can carry out various daily activities as usual.
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Increase mental alertness
Sleeping after exercise is thought to increase mental alertness and reduce fatigue, especially if you wake up too early to exercise.
When you wake up too early to work out, chances are you’re still mentally unprepared for the day. Therefore, sleeping after exercise can increase your mental alertness.
Adverse effects of sleep after exercise
While there are benefits, taking a nap after a workout also has some downsides to consider, for example:
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Poor sleep quality
Exercising can increase endorphins and body temperature. Both of these can make your brain and body wake up so that it interferes with the quality of sleep.
Even if you decide to sleep after your workout, it can be difficult to get good quality sleep.
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Inviting dizziness
Sleeping too long after exercising can put you in a deeper phase of sleep. This is believed to invite dizziness and confusion when you wake up.
In the medical world, this condition is known as sleep inertia and can last up to 30 minutes.
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Difficulty sleeping at night
Sleeping after exercise during the day can interfere with your sleep at night. Not only that, if you have a sleep disorder, sleeping after a workout during the day can make your symptoms worse.
Causes of drowsiness come after exercise
The drowsiness that comes after exercise can appear because you have spent a lot of energy on physical activity.
In addition, the onset of drowsiness after exercise can be a sign that you have been doing too much cardio and aerobics.
If you’re not used to exercising, try not to push yourself. Start with light exercise movements with a duration that is not too long. The goal is that the body can get used to the intensity of the exercise you do.
How much sleep after exercise is allowed?
After considering the various benefits and dangers of sleeping after exercise above, you may be wondering, is it okay to go straight to sleep after exercise?
Reporting from Healthline, you should take a nap for only 20 minutes after exercise. Avoid sleeping for 30-60 minutes. Because sleeping too long after exercise can put you in a deep sleep phase and wake up with sleep inertia.
If necessary, also set an alarm so you don’t sleep too long after your workout.