RecoveryDIAGNOSIS

TRAINING RUINING YOUR SLEEP? HERE'S WHY

You train hard, eat well, go to bed tired — then lie there wired. Resting HR elevated. Waking at 3am. The harder you train, the worse you sleep.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Most often, this is because late-evening high-intensity sessions elevate cortisol for 2-4 hours. The fix: test session timing — move late intensity earlier when a repeated pattern shows it is delaying or fragmenting sleep.

WHY THIS HAPPENS

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Late-evening high-intensity sessions elevate cortisol for 2-4 hours

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Sympathetic nervous system dominance from chronic high training load

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Under-fuelling — low glycogen and elevated cortisol disrupt sleep

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Overtraining spectrum — disrupted sleep is an early overtraining signal

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Caffeine too late — half-life of 5-6 hours means 2pm coffee affects midnight sleep

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Screen exposure post-ride compounding sympathetic arousal

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Test session timing

Move late intensity earlier when a repeated pattern shows it is delaying or fragmenting sleep

Check energy availability

Under-fuelling drives cortisol

Check the recovery cluster

Use HRV beside sleep, symptoms, resting heart rate and recent load—not as an overtraining diagnosis

Read the sleep guide

Full sleep optimisation protocol for cyclists

FREE DIAGNOSTIC

Check your energy availability

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WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Andy GalpinProfessor of Kinesiology, Cal State Fullerton; muscle physiologist

Galpin treats sleep as a primary training variable, not an afterthought — it's where adaptation and nervous-system recovery actually happen. Late, intense sessions and chronic high load keep the sympathetic system switched on, so the fix is finishing hard efforts well before bed, fuelling enough to keep cortisol down, and deloading when sleep and HRV both slide.

Hear it: Getting Faster After 40: Dr Andy Galpin on Strength and Recovery