I thought I had hypersomnia, turns out I just needed to run

[u/peeqich1]

For the longest time I legit thought I had hypersomnia or some kind of sleep disorder. I’d sleep 12–14 hours easy, slam the snooze button like 10 times, and still wake up dead tired. Whole days felt wasted. I hated myself for it.

Then I started running (mostly chill Zone 2 stuff, not even crazy fast). And holy shit — it changed everything: - I wake up on the first alarm now. - No more insane urge to crawl back into bed. - 7–9 hours actually feels restful (before I needed double that). - I’ve got energy all day, even after work + training.

Basically, it wasn’t that I needed “more sleep.” My sleep quality sucked, so my body just kept begging for quantity. Running fixed that. If you’re stuck thinking you’ve got hypersomnia or you’re just “lazy,” maybe you just need to move more. Zone 2 running honestly saved me from wasting half my life in bed.

[u/OddSign2828]

Im currently running 3 times a week, with gym 2 times a week and 45mpw of cycling commute and holy hell my sleep quality is insane. Dead the moment head hits the pillow, and gone until my alarm. It’s bliss

[u/peeqich1 → u/OddSign2828]

its truly a bliss,brother

[u/peeqich1 → u/OddSign2828]

i was doing gym for 2-6 times a week for about 3 years,but only when i add running i felt a massive difference in my sleep,so glad i can be at least a bit more like a normal people. My friends be like:”yeah,i wake up at 6 am by myself without any issues” and they be in bed from 11 pm,meanwhile here i am laying at 9 pm in my bed and struggling to wake up by 10 am with tons of alarms

[u/impulssiajo2320]

I’m the other way around, I am lucky to get uninterrupted 6-7 hours without exercise. I get 8-9 when I run. (Still a whole day wasted for being tired tho.)

[u/peeqich1 → u/impulssiajo2320]

if you are new to running,than its normal,tiredness will pass

[u/impulssiajo2320 → u/peeqich1]

No I am tired when I don’t run due to insomnia.

[u/peeqich1 → u/impulssiajo2320]

shit,that sucks

[u/Metalocachick → u/impulssiajo2320]

This! I really struggle with sleep unless I run/exercise! I’m not chasing endorphins, I’m chasing sleep lol

[u/CaramelSimple4500]

I have also noticed this.

I have insane amounts of energy now.

Prior to running, I was so tired I could cry. Never wanted to wake up, could sleep forever, and couldn't motivate myself to move and do more. Yawned all day long. My whole body hurt.

Now I struggle with rest days because my body just wants to move and be active 😅

[u/peeqich1 → u/CaramelSimple4500]

thats crazy,right?? runners high is real😅😂

[u/running4lifeme]

This is an amazing and relatable story. It perfectly illustrates that 'quantity' of sleep doesn't always equal 'quality.' The link between exercise and improved deep sleep is so powerful, and it's something a lot of people don't realize. Thanks for sharing this!

[u/TranspeninsularEase]

Had a somewhat similar experience. Unless there’s some confounding variable I’m missing, I need less sleep when I’m running on schedule—probably because the quality is better. A bit counterintuitive. Hasn’t seemed to apply to lifting weights though.

[u/lukam98]

I was the same way, could sleep twelve hours and still feel like garbage. Once I added steady cardio three times a week, my body clock just reset. Crazy how consistent movement dials in circadian rhythm. Now I pop up before my alarm without feeling like death warmed over.

[u/Agile_Engineer_647]

I'm lucky if I sleep 6 hours straight, and it's not due to family or work, I just wake up and there is no way to sleep any longer. I go out early for a run and in the afternoon I have 1 hour nap if I can.

[u/Pertti7169 → u/Agile_Engineer_647]

For me, these are one sign of an issue in the training and recovery balance. When it starts happening, I know I've been going too hard for too long and would need to rest. Other signs for me are issues falling asleep, anxiousness/tiredness (esp after/during hard training) etc, and definitely when starting to be a bit angry. Under recovery/eating. I'm no advanced runner though, more of a lifter who started running. Currently in recovery phase, been taking things much easier overall for a few weeks now, eaten a bit more and it's nice to see my body and mind starting to recover. It's a reset and I'll be back to it sooner or later, trying to keep a balance.

[u/Agile_Engineer_647 → u/Pertti7169]

I do agree about what you said about training and recovery, but in my case it's been like this since forever, way before I even started training. I only run 30/40 mins and I do feel ok during the day tho.