I wanted to ask, just of curiosity, if there can be any link between overtraining and nightmares.
For the past four months I have had a too big training load - I increased it too rapidly and my body could not cope. I suffered from permanent exhaustion and realised at a certain point that it is likely I am a bit overtrained. So I took some rest and made my workouts milder and the chronic fatigue disappeared (though, unfortunatelly, my times are at the moment still quite poor :( - it will take probably some more time to get back to some better results)
A couple of weeks ago, while still quite exhausted, I experienced several nightmares within very short span of time. I was probably on good way to develop a neurotic fear of Freddie Kruger :D
Now, is it possible that this episode of nightmares had something to do with the overtraining?
Lindsay:
Now, I am not a doctor, but I have had sleep issues periodically. My understanding is that overtraining can definitely cause sleep disturbances, including inabililty to fall asleep, nightmares and waking during the night. I'm not sure what the cause is, altered cortisol or hormonal levels. Backing off a bit was a good idea. If you feel a compulsion to overtrain in a particular sport, you might try a bit of cross-training. Good luck.
Lindsay:
Now, I am not a doctor, but I have had sleep issues periodically. My understanding is that overtraining can definitely cause sleep disturbances, including inabililty to fall asleep, nightmares and waking during the night. I'm not sure what the cause is, altered cortisol or hormonal levels. Backing off a bit was a good idea. If you feel a compulsion to overtrain in a particular sport, you might try a bit of cross-training. Good luck.
