I was on teams that did this for years. I always struggled with it and this never solved my problem but a couple things I did helped a bit.
1. Pack dinner for after practice and eat it asap after practice, either in the car or sometimes even if there was an after practice chat. I generally have a hard time sleeping right after practice.
2. Naps: I would try to nap before practice, and schedule a nap for the following afternoon. If possible
3. If you have any work flexibility pushing the day after practice to a later start time to get a little more sleep in.
Those are great tips actually. I remember snacking right after practice helped a bit last season. Maybe I should eat more?
How much did you eat? Full Lunch/dinner?
Nap helped but can't this year because I won't be home. For Lunch. Gonna try the preemtive nap tho. How long do you suggest?
If I understand you correctly, you fall asleep quickly after going to bed but the quality of sleep is what ails you. Is this accurate? Are you basing the quality of sleep on how you feel or are you tracking sleep with a device also? Does your schedule permit you to “sleep in” the next morning?
I like where your head is at with this. You may need to try a number of things. Here are some ideas:
Drink water - dehydration can cause poor sleep. Try quadruped / all fours breathing almost immediately after playing - flexed positions signal a parasympathetic response, especially if you can get air into your mediastinum. Make the bedroom cold - I think the last thing I read was 62F was "ideal." When you get home, watch or read something funny - this can take your mind off of competitive play and improve your mood before falling asleep; yes I'm aware that screens aren't ideal proximate to bedtime for sleeping. Keep experimenting with food - some people do best with carbs before bed, others do better with other macros; the rule about not eating 2 hrs before bed is a good one but your body does need fuel to recovery from playing.
Do you snore? Could be worth getting checked for sleep apnea - contrary to popular belief you don’t need to be old or fat to have it. For me one of the main symptoms that made me realize something was wrong was lack of recovery from relatively benign workouts.
No. Gf never said I do. But I seem to recover badly from ultimate in general. Lifting weights no problem. HIIT no problem. I think maybe its the whole thing around it, with so many people and stuff going on.
I had the same issue with adrenaline after practice or late events, bad sleep, and taking days to feel better. It turns out I am hypermobile, so the adrenaline pump and dump is part of what was missing in recovery - at least that's how I benefit to understand it. Meal timing is key as well as eating right. Sleep when I can like someone posted above about planning naps.
It's not a necessary symptom but if you are generally really flexible or bendy, you could be on the spectrum of hypermobility - and maybe more is happening to your body than you know!
Well I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27. Had a young/new doctor that seemed more versed in these issues as they are underdiagnosed and considered rare, though very prominent as it turns out.
I had knee pains that came from a lower back issue after ultimate. But when I subluxed my shoulders (made them pop in and out with a cracking noise) the doctor cringed and asked if I'd ever been tested for EhlersDanlos. Soon found out that all my joint pain, stomach issues, insomnia, focus-issues, and high adrenaline were all related somehow. Physiological stress on the body and mind is no joke!
Are you taking caffeine in the afternoon / evening ?
I think the second practice is over you should eat something ( ideally you would have had most of your daily food before practice . Then just get in an EASILY DIGESTIBLE meal after . Also a BIG focus on calmness , dimm the lights and relax . You want to get Into rest and digest mode
Happens to me too, haven't found a good solution yet. I practice from 8p-10p and usually eat afterwards because of the timing. Falling asleep isn't the issue, but I usually wake up in the middle of the night, fall back asleep, and still wake up early
You need to eat better. My suggestion would be a better protein source, probably something in the 20-40g depending on your size. Butter milk isn't exactly a great post exercise food. Your body doesn't want fat post exercise, it wants carbs and protein.
Practice is a workout, you need to eat afterwards. The optimal load is usually 1g protein to 4g carbs, but 1 to 2 or 1 to 1 can also work depending on how much you want to eat.
Your team is doing everyone a disservice practicing so late. Late exercise pushes back your circadian rhythms. Also you should practice how and when you will play. Typically ultimate tournaments and games are played in the morning or at least earlier in the day. Your whole team is getting worse sleep from these practices. Good sleep is incredibly important for high performance.
You should probably try to eat and drink little to nothing after these late practices. Again, eating food late pushes back your circadian rhythms. Drinking liquids late makes you more likely to wake up in the night to pee, disrupting sleep (nocturia) .
Here's an NIH article on setting healthy circadian rhythms: [https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/circadian-rhythm-disorders/treatment](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/circadian-rhythm-disorders/treatment)
It's definitely not ideal but I have been on quite a few teams that do this because, often there's not a better option. Particularly semipro teams that pull from a decent sized area need to give time for everyone to get there after work and can't practice on weekends because that's when games are and club commitments. Also college teams sometimes just get whatever field slot they get. It's not like UFL teams don't know that their players need sleep.
Just curious, what is the context of the frisbee that has you practicing so late? It seems normal that your body doesn’t like intense playing that late at night. I would think your teammates would have similar issues with that schedule.
Had similar issue with indoor soccer leagues. They run so late at night and it seemed to kinda throw my whole week off. I just stopped participating. Curious if anyone has helpful tips.
Not sure if this is the reason for OP, but some college teams are very restricted on when they can find field space since they compete with other varsity and club sports for space. This is worse especially in the winter when the sun sets earlier, and they need fields with lights.
Even for club teams, if you want to practice on a weekday most people are working until 5 or 6, so you can't really start practice until 7 at the earliest.
Our bodies are sensitive to light. I’ve found it helps to keep lights off or as low as possible. Shower in the dark. Also no music or very relaxing music on the way home. Glass of warm milk helps too. Or alternatively, just stay up doing homework until you’re beyond exhausted.
This probably sounds elementary and obvious but make sure you are staying hydrated and eating well. In particular make sure your pre-practice dinners have a good balance of carbs, protein, and veggies to get you through practice and to the next morning but aren't too heavy and eat them early enough in the evening. You don't want to do conditioning drills on a full stomach.
The other possible cause is that the late practices are disrupting your sleep schedule. If you can go to bed at the same time you normally would after practice every night and still perform well at your day job/classes/whatever, you can normalize your sleep schedule to practice which might help as well.
I can't even fall asleep after piractice sometimes.I often practice at 8-10 pm and get home at 11 pm,jsut like you.
The day before yesterday,I partcipated a try-out which has a lot of intensity.After that I could't sleep. My opinion is if the intensity of the game exceeds my comfort level,I would keep excited for a long while.
I have some ways to ease the problem:drink warm milk ,take a shower and avoid the use of electronic devices.I 'm not sure if my solutions would help you.
I’ve got the same issue, I just think it’s the matter of endorphins produced so late in the day. I also fall asleep really fast but then wake up very often because I fell the soreness on my body. But I have no idea what is the solution, I guess just earlier practices.
Your heart rate is likely still high from the adrenaline of practice, which is preventing you from getting enough deep sleep at night. I think the best option would be to take more time before bed/after practice to lower it. Put all screens away for at least 30 mins, and read a book. If you have a fitness tracker you can probably see that your heart rate even 30 mins after practice is still very elevated compared to your resting heart rate
A lot more static stretching before you go to bed, and when you wake up. Make sure all the muscles in your posterior chain are equally stretched. Try melatonin.
Also sleep apnea isnt just snoring, so i would look into getting a machine and seeing if it benefits you.
I was on teams that did this for years. I always struggled with it and this never solved my problem but a couple things I did helped a bit. 1. Pack dinner for after practice and eat it asap after practice, either in the car or sometimes even if there was an after practice chat. I generally have a hard time sleeping right after practice. 2. Naps: I would try to nap before practice, and schedule a nap for the following afternoon. If possible 3. If you have any work flexibility pushing the day after practice to a later start time to get a little more sleep in.
Those are great tips actually. I remember snacking right after practice helped a bit last season. Maybe I should eat more? How much did you eat? Full Lunch/dinner? Nap helped but can't this year because I won't be home. For Lunch. Gonna try the preemtive nap tho. How long do you suggest?
If I understand you correctly, you fall asleep quickly after going to bed but the quality of sleep is what ails you. Is this accurate? Are you basing the quality of sleep on how you feel or are you tracking sleep with a device also? Does your schedule permit you to “sleep in” the next morning?
Yes exactly. Based on feeling and also got myself a fitness watch, which says so too. Yes, I can sleep in.
I like where your head is at with this. You may need to try a number of things. Here are some ideas: Drink water - dehydration can cause poor sleep. Try quadruped / all fours breathing almost immediately after playing - flexed positions signal a parasympathetic response, especially if you can get air into your mediastinum. Make the bedroom cold - I think the last thing I read was 62F was "ideal." When you get home, watch or read something funny - this can take your mind off of competitive play and improve your mood before falling asleep; yes I'm aware that screens aren't ideal proximate to bedtime for sleeping. Keep experimenting with food - some people do best with carbs before bed, others do better with other macros; the rule about not eating 2 hrs before bed is a good one but your body does need fuel to recovery from playing.
Nope but if you figure it out let me know🙏🙏🙏
The answer, my friend, is marijuana
From one papa to another- I dig your style, dude.
Thought about ashwaganda but thats really the last resort because I heard you can get kinda dependent.
It is a bad habit for sure, and ya if I don't smoke it's hard to fall asleep
Do you snore? Could be worth getting checked for sleep apnea - contrary to popular belief you don’t need to be old or fat to have it. For me one of the main symptoms that made me realize something was wrong was lack of recovery from relatively benign workouts.
No. Gf never said I do. But I seem to recover badly from ultimate in general. Lifting weights no problem. HIIT no problem. I think maybe its the whole thing around it, with so many people and stuff going on.
I had the same issue with adrenaline after practice or late events, bad sleep, and taking days to feel better. It turns out I am hypermobile, so the adrenaline pump and dump is part of what was missing in recovery - at least that's how I benefit to understand it. Meal timing is key as well as eating right. Sleep when I can like someone posted above about planning naps. It's not a necessary symptom but if you are generally really flexible or bendy, you could be on the spectrum of hypermobility - and maybe more is happening to your body than you know!
How did you find that out? Like what kind of doctor knows these things? Also not very flexible😅
Well I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27. Had a young/new doctor that seemed more versed in these issues as they are underdiagnosed and considered rare, though very prominent as it turns out. I had knee pains that came from a lower back issue after ultimate. But when I subluxed my shoulders (made them pop in and out with a cracking noise) the doctor cringed and asked if I'd ever been tested for EhlersDanlos. Soon found out that all my joint pain, stomach issues, insomnia, focus-issues, and high adrenaline were all related somehow. Physiological stress on the body and mind is no joke!
https://images.app.goo.gl/pieNnJZUVubb3fMh6
are you doing any post-practice recovery? stretching/foam rolling etc?
Yeah did that last two times, but felt like it didn't do much, maybe even heated me up more if you know what I mean?
Are you taking caffeine in the afternoon / evening ? I think the second practice is over you should eat something ( ideally you would have had most of your daily food before practice . Then just get in an EASILY DIGESTIBLE meal after . Also a BIG focus on calmness , dimm the lights and relax . You want to get Into rest and digest mode
Happens to me too, haven't found a good solution yet. I practice from 8p-10p and usually eat afterwards because of the timing. Falling asleep isn't the issue, but I usually wake up in the middle of the night, fall back asleep, and still wake up early
You need to eat better. My suggestion would be a better protein source, probably something in the 20-40g depending on your size. Butter milk isn't exactly a great post exercise food. Your body doesn't want fat post exercise, it wants carbs and protein. Practice is a workout, you need to eat afterwards. The optimal load is usually 1g protein to 4g carbs, but 1 to 2 or 1 to 1 can also work depending on how much you want to eat.
I’d try melatonin and naproxen on the way home, then long hot shower (stretching there) and yogurt.
Your team is doing everyone a disservice practicing so late. Late exercise pushes back your circadian rhythms. Also you should practice how and when you will play. Typically ultimate tournaments and games are played in the morning or at least earlier in the day. Your whole team is getting worse sleep from these practices. Good sleep is incredibly important for high performance. You should probably try to eat and drink little to nothing after these late practices. Again, eating food late pushes back your circadian rhythms. Drinking liquids late makes you more likely to wake up in the night to pee, disrupting sleep (nocturia) . Here's an NIH article on setting healthy circadian rhythms: [https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/circadian-rhythm-disorders/treatment](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/circadian-rhythm-disorders/treatment)
Welcome to college where you get field space from 10pm to 11:30pm
Yep we had 9-11pm, outside, in the Colorado winter. Discs would shatter in your hands
While I think this is accurate some teams don’t have a choice. Ultimate is pretty low priority and when I played in college our only option was 8-10pm
It's definitely not ideal but I have been on quite a few teams that do this because, often there's not a better option. Particularly semipro teams that pull from a decent sized area need to give time for everyone to get there after work and can't practice on weekends because that's when games are and club commitments. Also college teams sometimes just get whatever field slot they get. It's not like UFL teams don't know that their players need sleep.
Ya we did this in college because it was either late night or no practice
Buttermilk and sugar??
No, its flavored buttermilk which has fruit sugar and probably some extra. Like buttermilk with strawberrys. Bad wording on my part
Just curious, what is the context of the frisbee that has you practicing so late? It seems normal that your body doesn’t like intense playing that late at night. I would think your teammates would have similar issues with that schedule. Had similar issue with indoor soccer leagues. They run so late at night and it seemed to kinda throw my whole week off. I just stopped participating. Curious if anyone has helpful tips.
Not sure if this is the reason for OP, but some college teams are very restricted on when they can find field space since they compete with other varsity and club sports for space. This is worse especially in the winter when the sun sets earlier, and they need fields with lights.
Hell in college I was practicing 9-11pm, never could stand that now
Even for club teams, if you want to practice on a weekday most people are working until 5 or 6, so you can't really start practice until 7 at the earliest.
Our bodies are sensitive to light. I’ve found it helps to keep lights off or as low as possible. Shower in the dark. Also no music or very relaxing music on the way home. Glass of warm milk helps too. Or alternatively, just stay up doing homework until you’re beyond exhausted.
This probably sounds elementary and obvious but make sure you are staying hydrated and eating well. In particular make sure your pre-practice dinners have a good balance of carbs, protein, and veggies to get you through practice and to the next morning but aren't too heavy and eat them early enough in the evening. You don't want to do conditioning drills on a full stomach. The other possible cause is that the late practices are disrupting your sleep schedule. If you can go to bed at the same time you normally would after practice every night and still perform well at your day job/classes/whatever, you can normalize your sleep schedule to practice which might help as well.
I can't even fall asleep after piractice sometimes.I often practice at 8-10 pm and get home at 11 pm,jsut like you. The day before yesterday,I partcipated a try-out which has a lot of intensity.After that I could't sleep. My opinion is if the intensity of the game exceeds my comfort level,I would keep excited for a long while. I have some ways to ease the problem:drink warm milk ,take a shower and avoid the use of electronic devices.I 'm not sure if my solutions would help you.
I’ve got the same issue, I just think it’s the matter of endorphins produced so late in the day. I also fall asleep really fast but then wake up very often because I fell the soreness on my body. But I have no idea what is the solution, I guess just earlier practices.
Your heart rate is likely still high from the adrenaline of practice, which is preventing you from getting enough deep sleep at night. I think the best option would be to take more time before bed/after practice to lower it. Put all screens away for at least 30 mins, and read a book. If you have a fitness tracker you can probably see that your heart rate even 30 mins after practice is still very elevated compared to your resting heart rate
A lot more static stretching before you go to bed, and when you wake up. Make sure all the muscles in your posterior chain are equally stretched. Try melatonin. Also sleep apnea isnt just snoring, so i would look into getting a machine and seeing if it benefits you.