Can't sleep after a late workout or a night game

Is training in the evening bad for sleep?

Usually not. A 2019 systematic review pooled 23 studies of healthy adults who exercised in the evening and compared their sleep with nights without exercise. Overall, evening exercise did not harm sleep. If anything, people spent slightly more time in deep, slow-wave sleep.¹

There was one exception. Sleep onset, total sleep time and sleep efficiency could suffer after vigorous exercise that ended an hour or less before bed. A higher body temperature at bedtime was linked with more time awake in the night.¹

Why night games are different

Sleep complaints after night competition are common, and they are not only about the exercise. In a study of 12 netball players, athletes slept less, slept less efficiently and woke earlier after a night game than on a matched rest day. Adrenaline and noradrenaline were higher around the game, but they did not track how badly people slept. The players who scored higher for a general tendency towards hyperarousal slept worst.²

A review of sleep in elite soccer lists the rest of the usual suspects: bright stadium light, screens afterwards, late caffeine, alcohol, napping, travel and the simple engagement of a match that mattered.³

For what to drink between the final whistle and bed, read What to drink after a night match.

The caffeine you forgot about

Pre-workout drinks, gels and energy drinks often carry more caffeine than a coffee. In a controlled study, a moderate dose disturbed sleep when taken at bedtime, three hours before and even six hours before.⁴ If you take a stimulant before a seven o'clock session, it is still working at eleven.

The same shows up in the field. In 20 elite rugby union players after a 19:00 to 21:00 Super Rugby game, caffeine in saliva was higher after the game than before it in 17 players, and the players whose levels rose most took longer to fall asleep. On game night the squad went to bed at 02:11 on average, against 23:08 on the nights before.⁸

The drink after the game

Alcohol helps people fall asleep faster, then breaks up the second half of the night and delays REM sleep.⁵ After a late game, when sleep is already short, that trade is a poor one. We look at the evidence in Beer after training: what alcohol does to recovery.

What helps

Small, deliberate changes can make a measurable difference. In a randomised crossover study, 20 players completed a short sleep hygiene routine after a 20:45 match. They slept significantly longer on match night than when they followed their usual post-game routine.⁶ Their physical performance and blood markers over the next two days did not change, so treat this as better sleep, not faster recovery.

• Cool down properly. Body temperature at bedtime was linked with more time awake.¹
• Eat and rehydrate soon after. Then taper fluids so the night is not broken by trips to the bathroom.
• Set a caffeine cutoff. Six hours before bed is the line the evidence supports.⁴
• Make the end of the day obvious. Lower the lights, step away from screens, and repeat the same small routine. More on that window in What to drink in the evening after training.
• Do not panic about one bad night. Sleep needs vary between athletes, and the 2021 expert consensus on athlete sleep recommends working from your own needs rather than a single rule.⁷

When it is a pattern

An occasional restless night after a big game is normal. If you are regularly sleeping badly, the expert consensus recommends screening athletes for sleep problems and involving a professional, because short and poor-quality sleep is common in elite sport.⁷ Talk to your team doctor or a sleep specialist.