The link between sleep and overtraining (and how to recover)
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
Learn what overtraining is, including signs and symptoms, and the link between overtraining and sleep. Plus, how to prevent and recover from overtraining.
Physical overtraining can happen to anyone regardless of their fitness level. If you push your body so hard that it can’t recover, you can severely impact both your physical and mental health.
When you love a physical activity—whether it’s running, powerlifting, or swimming—or you’re working toward a big competition, the temptation to train harder and harder can disrupt the delicate balance between exertion and recovery. Also, ignoring the signs that your body needs rest can cause a drop in performance, an increased risk of injuries, and emotional fatigue.
Sleep is a key component of recovery. Without adequate rest, your body doesn’t get a chance to repair and strengthen itself. If you want to avoid overtraining, maintain your athletic performance, and support your overall health, focus on your sleep quality and quantity.
What is overtraining?
Overtraining occurs when you do excessive training sessions without giving yourself enough time to recover. As a result, your performance starts to decline, because you haven’t given your body enough time to properly rest, recover, and repair.
Signs and symptoms of overtraining
If you suspect you're overtraining, watch for physical, emotional, and behavioral signs and symptoms so you can adjust your training schedule. Allowing more time for rest and recovery can help prevent long-term negative effects on your health and performance.
Decreased performance: A significant drop in your performance levels or difficulty performing tasks and workouts that once felt manageable
Persistent fatigue: Not just the usual tiredness felt after a good workout, but a continuous exhaustion that doesn’t go away with rest is a common symptom of overexertion
Mood swings or irritability: Feelings of depression, anger, or irritability without a clear cause
Sleep disturbances: Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up not feeling rested
Changes in appetite: Not feeling as hungry as usual or experiencing unusual cravings
Is there a link between sleep and overtraining?
Not getting enough sleep when you’re training a lot can disrupt vital recovery processes, which can worsen symptoms of overtraining. By prioritizing good sleep hygiene and monitoring signs of sleep disruption, you can maintain a healthier balance between training intensity and recovery to support your performance.
Impairing physical recovery: Lack of sleep can hinder the production of a growth hormone, which is essential for building and repairing muscle, possibly affecting both your overall strength and endurance levels.
Disturbing hormone balance: Overtraining and inadequate sleep can disrupt the balance of stress hormones like cortisol. This can further affect sleep quality and delay recovery.
Affecting cognitive function and mood: Sleep deprivation can affect cognitive functions such as decision-making and focus, which are important for optimizing your training. It can also lead to mood swings and decreased motivation.
6 sleep strategies to help prevent overtraining
Using strategies to enhance sleep quality and duration can help you prevent overtraining. Good sleep can support your physical recovery and enhance your mental and emotional resilience, allowing you to better handle intense training.
1. Establish a consistent sleep routine
Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help regulate your body's internal clock. This consistency can make it easier to fall asleep and wake up naturally, improving your sleep quality.
💙 Add a Bedtime Body Scan to your nightly routine to prepare your body and mind for rest.
2. Optimize the sleep environment
Create a bedroom environment that encourages sleep. Keep the room cool, quiet, and dark, and use a quality mattress and comfortable pillows to support your posture. Blackout curtains, eye masks, and earplugs can also be helpful if light and noise bother you.
💙 Playing a soundscape, like Brown Noise, can help to block out disruptive sounds and help you stay asleep.
3. Manage light exposure
Avoid bright screens from smartphones, tablets, and computers before bedtime, as the blue light emitted can disrupt the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Instead, wind down with dim lighting and activities like reading. If you must use your device, lower the screen brightness — and consider just listening to a meditation practice or soft music.
💙 Press play on the Infinite Piano for Sleep playlist as you wind down at night before drifting off to sleep.
4. Add relaxation techniques before bed
Use deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, or guided imagery to help calm your mind and prepare your body for sleep. These can reduce stress and anxiety—which are common in cases of overtraining—and can interfere with sleep.
💙 Try the Deep Sleep Relax guided meditation to help you relax before bed.
5. Pay attention to pre-sleep nutrition and hydration
Avoid heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol close to bedtime, as they can disrupt sleep. Instead, choose light snacks that include tryptophan—an amino acid that may promote sleep—which can be found in foods like nuts and bananas.
💙 Discover what foods work best for you before bed by learning more about Mindful Eating.
6. Consider naps judiciously
Take short naps of about 20–30 minutes to help alleviate sleep debt and improve alertness without affecting your nighttime sleep. Avoid longer naps or napping too late in the day, as this can make it harder to fall asleep at night.
💙 Refresh your mind with an Afternoon Nap Sleep Story, a 29-minute guided nap meditation aimed to help you fall asleep quickly and awake feeling rejuvenated.
How mindfulness can aid recovery and enhance sleep
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can aid recovery and improve sleep, particularly for athletes who have overtrained. Start with just a few minutes each day to help reduce stress, calm the mind, and promote better sleep quality.
Explore different types of mindfulness practices to find what works best for you, such as apps that guide you through meditation or yoga classes for mindful movements. Just taking time each day to reflect and breathe deeply can also be helpful.
1. Reduces stress and anxiety: Overtraining often leads to increased stress and anxiety, which can disrupt sleep and hinder recovery. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation or deep breathing exercises, can help lower cortisol levels and promote a state of relaxation.
2. Improves sleep onset and quality: Techniques like guided sleep meditations or mindfulness exercises focus on breathing and body scans. These can reduce the mental chatter that may keep you awake and help you sleep more deeply.
3. Enhances recovery through better relaxation: Techniques like progressive muscle relaxation can help you fall asleep and improve the quality of your sleep by relaxing muscles and helping reduce physical tension. This can be particularly helpful if you feel tense and sore from overtraining.
4. Helps maintain a better pain threshold: Overtraining can often lead to increased sensitivity to pain due to muscle fatigue and micro-injuries. Mindfulness can help alter the perception of pain, helping you manage discomfort more effectively. This can help you sleep better, support your recovery, and continue training.
5. Boosts overall wellbeing and performance: Taking care of your mental health, responding better to the stresses of training and competition, and having a more balanced approach to your athletic and personal life can enhance your mental health and sporting achievements.
Overtraining and sleep FAQs
How does overtraining affect sleep quality?
Overtraining can severely disrupt sleep quality in several ways.
Physically, the excessive strain on the body can lead to discomfort and pain, making it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position.
Mentally, the stress and anxiety associated with overtraining can lead to racing thoughts and restlessness, making it hard to fall asleep.
Hormone imbalances caused by overtraining, particularly elevated cortisol levels, can disrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle, making it tougher to fall asleep and stay asleep. With less restorative deep sleep, you may feel more tired, further impacting your recovery.
Can improving sleep help prevent overtraining?
Improving sleep can help you prevent overtraining. That’s because good sleep can help enhance recovery processes, support immune function, and regulate mood and cognitive function. Especially if you’re an active person, ensuring you get enough quality sleep can help your body repair and build tissues, clear metabolic waste, and boost energy levels. When you maintain a balance between training intensity and recovery, you reduce the risk of overtraining.
What are the long-term effects of overtraining on sleep and performance?
The long-term effects of overtraining can include chronic sleep disturbances—such as insomnia or fragmented sleep patterns—which can persist even after you reduce your training intensity. These sleep issues can lead to decreased alertness, impaired judgment, and slower reaction times, all of which can negatively affect your performance.
If you continue to overtrain, it can lead to more serious health issues such as chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, or other mood disorders. Each of these may further disrupt sleep and reduce your performance.
How long does it take to recover from overtraining?
The time required to recover from overtraining can depend on factors like the severity of the condition, as well as your age, health status, and how long you’ve been overtraining. Recovery might take anywhere from weeks to months. During this time, it’s important to reduce training intensity while focusing on nutrition, hydration, sleep, and psychological factors such as stress or anxiety. Find a qualified coach to guide your return to training to ensure your recovery is sustainable. You don't want to relapse into overtraining.
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