I seem to be having problems with sleeping after nearly every ride, to the point it starting to put me off cycling.

My fitness is ok as I am quite active with both cycling and walking, I think?. Most of my rides are before 12pm and last up to 2 hours at a time, I’m only averaging around 15mph.

So not massive miles! lol. 2 hours is all I seem to be able to manage, time restraints.

I fall asleep quite easily, in bed by 10pm, but then I wake up in the early hours of the morning and that’s it, I then feel crap all day!

I drink plenty of water during and after the ride, so I dont think its dehydration.

Any help or advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Either: do some gentle Yoga in the evening.

And / or, take a paracetamol or ibuprofen before bed.

Either should destress your muscles a bit and keep your body calm.

EDIT: I’m no doctor, jus from experience.

Or an old fashioned anti histamine.
(Modern ones have a ‘non drowsy’ ingredient, you don’t want those)
Tylenol pm is a brand in the us/Canada, there’s bound to be something similar in the uk.

If you are beasting yourself on those two hour rides and are doing them frequently, bad sleep could be a sign of overtraining.

I have this same issue and I found switching to decaff coffee made quite a difference, although its still a problem for me the caffeine definitetly exacerbates the issue.
Everyones different but its helped for me. The longer I ride the worse I sleep feels like a hangover the next day.
I used to get the same thing with windsurfing but worse as its more physical.

Anyway hope that helps

The longer I ride the worse I sleep feels like a hangover the next day

That’s how I describe it to my partner. I have a ‘hangover’ this morning from yesterday’s ride, I only cycled 22 miles in 1.5 hours, a mixture of road/gravel, I feel shit this morning, but I should sleep better tonight.

What wakes you up? I have restless legs a lot of the time if I don’t stretch during the day, either post ride or walk.

How often do you ride? Sounds like overtraining stress, if you have a stressful job doing lots of cycling/training adds more stress, the body can’t distinguish between the two.
Try relaxing totally for a few days if you can.

Lots of unknowns, how used to these rides are you? What other sources of stress? How is diet and lifestyle?

What is it that wakes you up and stops you getting back to sleep?

I never sleep as well as normal after a hard ride. Sometimes I take Ibuprofen if my legs hurt when I go to bed, although it’s supposed to reduce recovery (as the inflammation is part of the process of triggering repair in the muscles).

What time do you have to wake for work? !0pm bed time seems early to me so perhaps youre just not tired enough.

OTOH 10pm is about 30 mins too late for me!.

Can’t really offer much, I tend to struggle to get to sleep after a night ride, but sleep like a log once over.

Feeling like a hangover does suggest dehydration. Try necking a pint of water with an electrolyte tablet in it as soon as you get home. This works for a real hangover too!

Used to have similar, but a milder version. Stopped using High5 caffeine + electrolyte tabs in my ride water, switched to Powerbar just electrolytes and problem stopped. I ride hot so get headaches/cramp with plain water. So no caffeine and a different electrolyte mix worked for me!

i use plant based protein powder and it helps me recover and sleep after a hard ride, i just mix it with water.

Using energy gels while you’re out?

I only ride 2 or 3 times over the whole week. I consume 2 bottles whilst out riding, I also drink at least 1.5 to 2l of water a day. I also use the electrolyte tabs after a ride, caffeine free.

I am usually up around 6.30am, work pattern is different every week, but I am generally falling asleep at 9.30pm, bed at 10pm.

I have always been a light sleeper, but I feel different after riding, very alert at night and not so sleepy as I would be a non riding day.

I am going to try slower rides as I always feel I need to push on faster as I only usually get around 2 hours riding time.