Avoiding Sleep Aid Abuse

Coach Patrick

For the past six months I have been tracking my sleep with the device called Beddit -- it was some start up company that I funded on Kickstarter and got a device that is a band across my part of the mattress (right side, strong side – hell yeah!).



This gives me basic data regarding my sleep patterns. How long it takes me to fall asleep, how many times I'm up, any restless sleep, and even snoring. It takes the total time I'm asleep and subtract out the non-sleeping parts (A.k.a. not the "deep" sleep that is beneficial) and gives me a total "sleeptime." It also comes with a handy score.



I have set my target goal to be six hours of sleep – 42 hours across a week which seems pretty achievable. Ideally I get more, but this is my baseline. If I get six hours of quality sleep, according to the app, I score a 100.



So, time for my question.



Over the course of the last month I've had a pretty bad cough and cold. Don't feel so bad for me, my wife has had it for longer! I usually get something every year, regardless of whether or not I get a flu shot (this year I did), and I usually get some kind of a nasal inhaler to help me break up the phlegm.



When the cold symptoms really came on and I couldn't really sleep because of a cough, I started taking some NyQuil. I probably took it for about a week, until the postnasal drip stopped.



When I looked at the sleep data, I was amazed – for the first time since I had started tracking my sleep, I scored a 100 or better every single night for a straight week. I killed my sleep.



The only think I can think of is that the NyQuil knocked me out.



So, what's the triathletes who needs to recover like a rockstar to do? I don't drink coffee late in the day, and I don't have a problem falling asleep ever. :-) But quite often I will have restless nights of sleep, or snoring, etc. 



I had a college roommate who is addicted to the stuff, so I know it's evil and don't plan to use it beyond the week, but it does have me thinking – what can I do to make sure my sleep is awesome?



Thanks in advance for your input!

GMAN 19030

Have your tried melatonin? More natural than something like Nyquil and the like.

kimmydct

I've been tracking my sleep for quite a while with the "Sleep Cycle" app. I notice the closer I get to my A race, the crappier my sleep gets. (And I'm a podium level sleep typically!) Never had problems falling asleep, but I was waking up a lot, and earlier, and not being able to get back to sleep. I can't seem to find the forum but I started a topic last year about the crappy sleep and some folks recommended some natural supplements that would help balance the hormones that are likely screwing up the sleep during times of heavier training/fatigue. (Adrenal support supplements)

Jess Withrow

Rock a pair of Blue Light Blocking Glasses for a couple hours before bed.... especially if you're up staring at a computer screen. Super cheap, SUPER effective way to naturally maintain circadian rhythm and ensure you're not suppressing melatonin production via blue light exposure. And you get to look like a HUGE dork at the same time. Especially if you have the $8 pair from Amazon that JW and I have (and should you happen to need safety gear for, say, skeet shooting... well.... kill two birds and all. Pun intended. :-) Prolonged supplementation with melatonin can result in your body producing less of its own melatonin, thus you become dependent on supplementing, and that can screw up your thyroid function.... but, like Kim said, I like and have used Adrenal Support from Vital Nutrients during high training volume to help deal with increased levels of cortisol.

JW had some interesting data on NyQuil and sleep from his Zeo a couple years ago that made him quit the stuff altogether...

William Jenks

Without knowing the science very well, I also want to ask what the score on your app really means. Does 100 mean that you "were asleep" the whole time or that you weren't moving, or is it some more sophisticated measurement that actually tells you something about the sleep physiology? Does the score correlate with how well you feel?

For example, if it's measuring motion (like all the iPhone apps and fitbit, etc), that may or may not be all that meaningful about your perceived rest, if my experience means anything.

Perhaps Al Truscott could be reeled in on this.

Al Truscott

As an ex-Ob-Gyn, I know little about the science of sleep. I do know the average 8 month fetus has sleep/wake cycles of 20 min sleep, 20 active, with an increase in heart rate variability when awake, but I doubt that's much use to us. I also know that sleep is as important as water and oxygen in sustaining human life, and the more consistent it is, the better we perform. I'm one of those lucky people who (a) never uses an alarm clock, and (b) doesn't seem to have any issues with getting to or staying asleep, so I don't have any advice to offer those who have "problems" with sleep.

Here is a web site which might have some interesting ideas about what is "normal" for sleep patterns.

[Editorial]:  Neglecting sleep, and using the excuse "I don't have time in my busy lifestyle" to change habits, are the same as ignoring good eating and exercise habits for similar reasons. It was a major frustration for me as a physician dealing with patients somatic complaints, to realise good health habits were seen as secondary to other goals in a person's life.

Brenda Ross

Following.

Ralph Moore

So,
Jess's suggestion is a very good one. There is research to show that CRT screens emit blue light (including TV, computer, ipad and iphone) and the color of the light that they emit can affect the normal sleep-wake cycle. Evidently that is why the blue glasses are helpful at improving sleep because they absorb the blue light. Most folks recommend not using a screen (or watching TV) for a couple of hours before bedtime so just get Jimmy Fallon on the TiVO and watch it the next day.

FYI some literature that might be interesting :http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831986/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2717723/
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2003-030570

Hope that it is helpful.
I agree with the folks above, medication is not the answer after the cold is gone.

Dino Sarti

Try this.... It's got melatonin in one and caffeine in the other. One to put you down. One to bring you up. It's science.



Full Disclosure: It's my company. I am a paid spokesperson. It works really well for me. Especially while traveling.

John Withrow

I'll give you my n=1. I was a heavy NyQuil user for many many yrs when I needed a "good night's sleep". In my quest to better sleep and better recovery a while back I bought a ZEO sleep tracker. This is the kind that you wear a headband to sleep and it "supposedly" tracks your actual brainwaves instead of just "motion" like the beddit or Fitbit does. It measured the difference between "light", "REM", and "Deep" sleep as well as awake time and also gave you a similar sleep score (deep sleep was a heavy weighting). It's surprising how little deep sleep you get in an actual good night of sleep (on the order of 20-40 mins, but they are crucial).

I always noticed that when I took NyQuil it totally knocked me out, but I was groggy and tired the next morning. What I learned with the sleep tracker was that on the nights that I tok the NyQuil that I always had an unusually low sleep score. When I dug further, I noticed that my total "hours" of sleep was higher, but I had essentially 0 "deep" sleep and very little "REM" sleep. It was as though the NyQuil put me in a state of constant "light" sleep. Kind of the type of sleep you would get if you if someone smacked you in the had with a hammer. Yes, you'd be knocked unconscious, but you wouldn't have the proper brain function to clear waste and reorganize all of the chaos of the day.

Regarding melatonin, I agree with Jess. This is a reasonable "short term" fix to use every once in a while while travelling, especially through multiple time zones, but reliance on it for extended periods will lower your body's natural production of it.

I found that timing of my supplements was helpful. I think it is very beneficial to take an Omega 3, Magnesium, and a Cocunut oil (or MCT oil) before bed. I take all other supplements either in the morning or with lunch. On occasion, I've found the Hammer Nutrition "REM Caps" to be useful. I usually take a couple of these the night before a race.

Finally, 6 hours is NOT enough. Make it a priority. Especially during periods of heavy training. 7 hrs/ ight should be a minimum, but hitting a 7.5-8.0 hr per night window will be hugely helpful towards your recovery.

Mariah Bridges

Melatonin, natural, non habit forming, boom.

Coach Rich

I plan to revisit this thread in a few months. I'm a VERY light sleeper: takes me a while to fall asleep, often wake up several times during the night, if one of these is after 4am I often start thinking of my day and can't go back to sleep, etc. 

I have to sleep with earplugs in, otherwise I'm kept awake by the sounds of Joanne and Riley falling asleep instantly. For a while I had a stash of Ambien from my several surgeries over the last 3yrs that I'd travel with to knock me out in hotels, etc, but, alas, that's all gone now. 

Gabe Peterson

Thanks for starting this interesting thread, Coach P! Here's my experience to add another data point...



I am usually a rock star sleeper. I have fully committed to the old-man sleep schedule. I'm in bed by 9-9:30 most nights and up at zero dark thirty to workout.

However, when I am battling illness or heading towards over training, I can't fall asleep. This is just when I need sleep the most. Otherwise, I get burned out and usually end up with whatever bug the kids have brought back from school.

Nyquil is magic when I am sick. It leaves me groggy and unfocused that next day if I take it when I'm not sick. I discovered a similar product called ZzzQuil. Basically it has the sleep aid of NyQuil without the cold medication.



When I'm lying in bed exhausted but can't fall asleep, I will take ZzzQuil. It puts me in a coma, and I wake up refreshed the next morning. I might use it once every 2-3 weeks.

Additionally, I am usually amped up after a race and can't sleep -- again when I need it most. I took ZzzQuil after IMAZ and had one of the best nights of sleep of my life, despite taking in several hundred mgs of caffeine during the day.

I wouldn't recommend taking any sleep aid on a regular basis. However, it can help to get needed rest when barreling into the brick wall of over training.

As endurance athletes, we don't recover if we don't sleep. My rule is that I don't workout if I didn't get at least 6 hours sleep the night before because my body didn't have time to recover.

Caltri

@Al: Come on Al, I have to throw the red flag! We both know that there is no such thing as an "ex-Ob-Gyn"! Once an Ob-Gyn, always an Ob-Gyn! It's in your blood

@Coach: One thing I have found helpful for sleep is the supplement 5-HTP. It has been used to help with depression, as an appetite suppressant, and a sleep aid. It is an amino acid found in nature after tryptophan (that product in turkey that cases men to fall asleep on the sofa watching football after Thanksgiving dinner) is broken down. 5-HTP then gets broken down to serotonin. Which, only in darkness, is eventually converted to melatonin.

And as @Jess typed, blue-light blocking glasses a few hours before bedtime have been shown to help falling asleep. I haven't used them myself, but have read about them. The thought is that they prevent the blue-light emitted from incandescent bulbs--and other types of light--from suppressing the production of our own melatonin.

But melatonin is thought to help shift the circadian clock earlier, thus promoting earlier sleep onset and morning awakening. So if you are not having difficulty falling asleep, melatonin (and 5-HTP) might not be as beneficial as hoped.

Ever have issues or concerns with sleep apnea? You don't have to just be awakened from sleep gasping for air for sleep apnea to prevent you from getting to deep sleep. Restless legs while sleeping? Most of the time I find it is not the individual him/herself that complains of these issues, but the spouse/partner that complains.

And of course, Disclaimer: I am not providing medical advice to any individual person. Always talk with your personal physician before starting any supplement or medication. You shouldn't take 5-HTP if you are taking anti-depressants, or medications for epilepsy, scleroderma, or Parkinson's disease. Or if you have GI disorders.

Stephanie Hartmann

I take Dormistat

Dormistat combines 4 powerful ingredients to promote the onset and improve sleep quality.* These include:

• Phenibut (GABA) - GABA derivative, 4-amino-3-phenylbutyric acid, which eascrosses the blood brain barrier and acts as a GABA_bAgonist. (1)
• L-Theanine - L theanine has been widely studied for its ability to produce a calming effect and prevent over stimulation. (2)
• Melatonin - Melatonin helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle while promoting restful sleep. (3)
• 5-HTP - support the production of Seratonin, which also has calming effect *(4)

I'm was a life long insomniac...but not anymore. Magic.