Changes

From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
Jump to: navigation, search

Sleep Deprivation in Overnight Events

42 bytes added, 23:35, 16 August 2012
m
no edit summary
* [[Zeo Sleep Monitor|Sleep]]. This is the obvious solution, but in many competitive situations it is not possible. Surprisingly, a short sleep of 5 to 15 minutes can remove most symptoms. You will still be tiered, but without the headache and hallucinations, you may make up more time than is lost sleeping. It is important to have someone wake you after the desired time; I would not trust an alarm. As an aside, my limited experiences with sleeping in an endurance event have resulted in 'lucid dreaming', where part of my mind is fully asleep, but another part is still conscious. This is a very strange experience.
* [[Caffeine]]. Using a stimulant like caffeine [[Caffeine]] helps only a little. Caffeine does work well as an ergogenic (aids energy production) and can offset some of the weakness associated with [[Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness|DOMS]]. Caffeine can reduce the feeling of sleepiness, but I have not found it to help with the headache or hallucinations. The stimulant in chocolate (Theobromine) has similar, but milder, effects.
* Mindset. I wrote a section on the psychological issues with running in the dark, which are applicable here. [reference]
* Intensity. I suspect that exercising at a higher intensity may help with some of the sleep deprivation issues. However, at Massanutten I was going very, very slowly and had no problems even after 34 hours.

Navigation menu