You could be a seasoned swimmer or a complete beginner, but if you’ve ever gone swimming, you’ve likely felt sleepy after your swimming session before. It isn’t uncommon to feel sleepy after a swimming session. There are several reasons that could contribute towards making you feel this way.
Your swimming session might have been too rigorous, or you could be dehydrated. Your nutritional timing, and whether you were swimming under the Sun or not, can also be factors that contribute towards making you feel drowsy after swimming.
Why Do You Feel Tired After Swimming?
Here are some factors that could contribute towards making you feel sleepy after you go swimming. These include:
1. The Temperature Of The Water Could Be Affecting Your Physiological System
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When the water in the newcastle fibreglass pool is colder, you’ll end up losing more body heat. This heat will be lost more rapidly when compared to if you were on land at the same temperature. This is because water has better heat-conductive properties. Think back to science classes back in school.
You were probably taught that heat is transferred from warm surface areas to cold surface areas. In this situation, your skin is warmer than the temperature of the water in your fibreglass pool. So the heat will leave your body and enter the water.
The core temperature of your body will be lowered, when you swim in water that’s lower than 75°F. Your body will also need to exert greater energy, in addition to the energy being spent towards exercising, to keep your body warmer. When you finally leave the water, the temperature within your body will start to get warmer. This will make you feel comforted like you were warming up in front of a cozy fire. As a result, you’ll feel sleepy.
If you swim in warm water on the other hand, then your body will work harder at cooling you down. This can also make you feel sleepy.
What You Can Do:
When the water in your pool is warmer, keep yourself hydrated. Should the water be colder, you’ll need to try to speed up how fast your body warms up, after you exit the pool. This will help get the blood flowing. Some simple cardio exercises can help you achieve this.
2. How Strenuous The Exercise Was
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When the exercise you do is super strenuous, this can leave you feeling tired after your workout. When you swim, you’re usually making use of all the groups of muscles within your body. It requires more energy to work out all these muscle groups at once. Your body also needs to combat water resistance, and this requires more energy as well.
What You Can Do:
You need to allow your body to recover properly. By the time your body reaches its normal state, your fatigue will be gone. You’ll also need to eat a nutritional meal, in order for your body to recover properly.
If you want to eat a heavy meal before using the pool, then eat at least three to four hours before. Eating meals after your workout is just as important.
3. Dehydration Can Cause Fatigue
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When you go swimming in your fibreglass pool, your body releases a lot of sweat. You won’t be sweating as much as when doing workouts on the land, but you will sweat.
Anytime you go training in warmer water, your body tends to feel dehydrated more quickly. You’ll also be sweating more. Through this process, your body can end up losing important minerals and electrolytes. Dehydration is known to cause fatigue.
What You Can Do:
If you’re an athlete, then you should be consuming between half an ounce to an ounce for every pound of your body weight. This should be done throughout the day. However, you’ll also need to figure out what works better for you. Consider consuming sports drinks after you go swimming, to replenish the lost electrolytes.
4. Your Workout Intensity
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When it comes to swimming, how fast you’re swimming is what’s referred to as workout intensity. It’s been seen that swimmers feel more energetic after an intense workout. This is known as after-burn. If you’ve ever experienced this, then you know how hard it can be to fall asleep that night. This is even if you’re exhausted physically. Your body should return to normal within thirty minutes to twenty-four hours.
Endurance-based workouts, on the other hand, can leave you feeling drowsy.
What You Can Do:
Try to schedule high-intensity workouts in the mornings. This way, you can utilize the energy gain you get from your workout. At night, you should focus on your endurance-based workout. This can help you get to sleep later in the night.
5. Your Nutritional Timing
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A lot of swimmers schedule their swims first thing in the morning. Before their swims, they don’t eat anything. When you do an intense swimming workout after fasting through the night, your body will be left feeling tired.
What You Can Do:
You should eat something light, even if it’s just a banana before you go swimming. Consider eating a granola bar, or a bowl of yogurt. You can eat food at least thirty minutes before you go swimming. However, bigger meals should be consumed three to four hours before, so consuming lighter meals is the way to go.
6. Sunshine And Feeling Drowsy
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A lot of people say that they feel tired and sleepy, after being under the Sun for some time. This could be due to overheating or dehydration. Exposure to the chemicals from the Sun can also result in chemical changes within the body. This can also cause fatigue.
What You Can Do:
Swimming early in the morning or during the late evening can reduce your exposure to direct sunlight. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen either.
Conclusion
It isn’t uncommon for people to feel sleepy after going for a swim. But what’s causing you to feel sleepy, will depend on several factors. Use the tips in the guide to learn more about what could cause you to feel sleepy after swimming.
