Exercise at night throwing off my sleep
 

I've always exercised in the mornings, it's when I feel the best and have the time to do so. But I've recently started taking dance classes that are at night. On the nights that I go to class I have a hard time sleeping. I fall asleep fine but wake often in the night. Is this common? Is this something that I will get used to after a while?

I've already looked for dance classes during the day but they all seem to run in the evenings. I definitely don't want to quit dancing but I need to sort out this sleep issue.

I have that problem sometimes too. If I work out at night it keeps me awake and buzzing for a while, and I have difficulty falling asleep. That's why I like working out in the morning - as hard as it is to roll out of bed at 5am, nothing wakes me up like a good workout.

If you can't adjust your sleep schedules for the nights you take your dance class, can you just do the class on weekend nights or times it doesn't matter so much if your sleep is disturbed?

I would assume if you got into a pattern of doing the class in the evenings a few times a week, your body would eventually get acclimated.

Originally Posted by VegTraveler:
I have that problem sometimes too. If I work out at night it keeps me awake and buzzing for a while, and I have difficulty falling asleep. That's why I like working out in the morning - as hard as it is to roll out of bed at 5am, nothing wakes me up like a good workout.

If you can't adjust your sleep schedules for the nights you take your dance class, can you just do the class on weekend nights or times it doesn't matter so much if your sleep is disturbed?

I would assume if you got into a pattern of doing the class in the evenings a few times a week, your body would eventually get acclimated.

I'm thinking that's what I'll do, just get acclimated.

As I had stated above, dance classes are not available in the morning times. (Seriously dance schools, sometimes people want to get their groove on at 9am!) I'm not willing to give up on dance so I'll have to adjust.

In reality there is no night I'm willing to compromise my sleep, it's important that I keep my sleep schedule steady.

I go out like a light after night exercise. But I don't go to bed straight away either. I have half an hour to an hour calm down time. During which I may often drink a beer.

I don't go to sleep straight after either! In fact I have at least 2 hrs downtime before bed. I make sure that when I come home I do some slow and deep stretching and then shower and wind down with TV or a book. The problem is not falling asleep, I'm fine with that. The problem is waking up with the feeling that all my muscles are "alive" and then once I wake up I have a hard time going back to sleep. This wasn't a problem before I started evening dance classes. The nights I don't dance I go out for a late night stroll (45-60min) and those nights seem to be fine in terms of sleep. So it must be the hard pumping exercise of dance that is keeping me up.

Not particularly useful advice, but I think you might end up acclimating. Some of my dance classes run until 915pm, but I don't have issues with waking up in the night. I'm absolutely not a morning person, though, so I've always been better off doing evening activities rather than morning.

If you haven't already, you might consider talking with other students in your class to see if they have a similar issue (and solved it), or talking with your teacher. He/she may have suggestions based on their experience or on past students who have had the same problem.

It probably depends on the school, but I know my dance teacher is currently working two other jobs and most of the students are under 18, so there is definitely no chance for a non-night class!

Try supplementing with some of the common options? Magnesium, melatonin, valerian, passion flower, etc.

Adding 5min of meditation to your wind down routine may also help.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. As I suspected I am getting acclimated to the new schedule and staying asleep better.

That's great to hear! Which type of dance classes are you taking?

Originally Posted by atmos:
That's great to hear! Which type of dance classes are you taking?

I do hip hop, Zumba and west African dance. So far. I'm up for anything!