Semi-OT: Why does swimming make me tired?

When I swim laps, I feel sedated for the rest of the day. It's not the typical muscle fatigue like one would experience in any sort of exercise. It's a sleepy, sedated feeling that exceeds my usual EDS, as if I took a sedative, and I don't get it with other exercise. I used to hypothesize that it had something to do with my sinuses and the chlorine (no idea what), but now I'm swimming in a chlorine-free pool, and I still experience it. It may still have something to do with the sinuses (again, no idea what). I'd love to be able to keep doing this, and early in the day is when I can, but I can't then be even more tired than usual for the rest of the day. Anyone have a clue what is going on?

SleepingUgly wrote:When I swim laps, I feel sedated for the rest of the day. It's not the typical muscle fatigue like one would experience in any sort of exercise. It's a sleepy, sedated feeling that exceeds my usual EDS, as if I took a sedative, and I don't get it with other exercise. I used to hypothesize that it had something to do with my sinuses and the chlorine (no idea what), but now I'm swimming in a chlorine-free pool, and I still experience it. It may still have something to do with the sinuses (again, no idea what). I'd love to be able to keep doing this, and early in the day is when I can, but I can't then be even more tired than usual for the rest of the day. Anyone have a clue what is going on?

One theory from a guy on the Internet:

Swimming is a good exercise for using a lot of muscles for burning off stress hormones rather than using just a few muscles to do that, so it can "interact" with the "effectiveness" of other things--meds, OTC meds, herbs, etc.--that affect mood, energy levels, and that are generally calming, while not causing the type of muscle soreness that comes from exercises that target one or just a few muscle groups.

It is good to get that effect from exercise, but it may be necessary to cut back on something else that may be sedating/calming in your life in order to make room for the natural, healthy sedating effect of the exercise.

jnk wrote:It is good to get that effect from exercise, but it may be necessary to cut back on something else that may be sedating/calming in your life in order to make room for the natural, healthy sedating effect of the exercise.

Thanks, but trust me, I am not taking anything to make me sedated--quite the opposite! So there's nothing to cut back on. Yes, this would be a great feeling right before bed, but sleep hygiene suggests that is not a good time to exercise.

I always feel that way after swimming, too, but it's a "good tired". I sleep especially well if I've been swimming because of the full body workout and the way my muscles relax (unless the water is really too cold).

In addition, there's a lot of breath holding going on. Maybe that's part of the fatigue?

Besides the exercise the water also sucks heat out of your body. You need energy to replace that heat loss. If you plan to swim the English channel you need to put on an extra 20 lbs of fat just to survive the swim (it will be mostly gone).

Janknitz wrote:In addition, there's a lot of breath holding going on. Maybe that's part of the fatigue?

I am in terrible cardio shape, so within a couple of minutes of swimming the front crawl, I am breathing faster and more often. So I'm breathing at a different pace depending on whether I'm doing crawl, breast stroke, with a kickboard, and how fast I'm going. I think it's near impossible for me to go so slowly as to not be breathing hard doing the crawl (possible, but not likely, that I could do a very slow breast stroke for 20"). Do you think it's an oxygenation problem that's causing the fatigue?

I am in terrible cardio shape

Perhaps you have answered your own question.

I encourage you to keep at it (so longs as the doc approves), and I suspect that the conditioning will follow.

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SleepingUgly wrote:

Janknitz wrote:In addition, there's a lot of breath holding going on. Maybe that's part of the fatigue?

I am in terrible cardio shape, so within a couple of minutes of swimming the front crawl, I am breathing faster and more often. So I'm breathing at a different pace depending on whether I'm doing crawl, breast stroke, with a kickboard, and how fast I'm going. I think it's near impossible for me to go so slowly as to not be breathing hard doing the crawl (possible, but not likely, that I could do a very slow breast stroke for 20"). Do you think it's an oxygenation problem that's causing the fatigue?

IMHO, I think that swimming generally creates a "good tired" that Janknitz mentions. If you are in "terrible" cardio shape, you are giving yourself a pretty good workout. I'd keep with it but go slow to build up your cardiovascular reserves. If one is tired in the daytime without doing anything at all, that is one matter. But if you are tired after a workout, then give yourself credit for working out the kinks in your body and building up your strength and health.

Here's another possibility but I don't know how it relates. I'll just share what happened to me. To celebrate my 60th birthday I decided that I would do a short distance triathlon. I grew up swimming in Minnesota lakes and am very comfortable in the water. But, in swimming the triathlon I had a horrific time breathing. It felt like I had "asthma" but have never had asthma before. Fast forward now to what I have learned here about dealing with xpap... From reading and studying here, I recognize that I have "silent reflux" and have been treating myself for it (yes, I will see the ENT guy soon). Anyway, some of the symptoms of the reflux are respiratory related and it makes me wonder whether or not my trouble breathing while swimming had more to do with reflux than "asthma" - makes some sense considering the position of your body when swimming. The reflux then could certainly create a sense of not being able to breathe well. This may have nothing to do with nothing but just thought I'd share. I would really guess that it is more a matter of getting into cardio shape.

And keep up with the swimming, or something that gives you some exercise every day. When I stopped my intensive ski days this spring my body really went into a funk.

Good luck dear friend!

And here's one more thought...

In the past, when I have started, restarted, or restarted an exercise program yet again, I have often felt tired and achy almost like coming down with a cold. I don't know what it is but I think it is the body releasing "toxins" in an effort to cleanse itself. Exercise is a good way to get rid of toxins, but too much can make you feel poorly. Who knows...

Best!

Hmmm, I wonder what your O2 levels are when you get out of the pool.
Swimming really ventilates me.

chunkyfrog wrote:Hmmm, I wonder what your O2 levels are when you get out of the pool.
Swimming really ventilates me.

You amphibian!

Hmmm, I wonder what your O2 levels are when you get out of the pool.
Swimming really ventilates me.

I love swimming and when I was a kid I spent my summers like a fish--in the water every moment I could. I had terrible headaches, though and I suspect it was all the breath holding. I've never been the most coordinated person in the world so I never really mastered a good, efficient crawl with coordinated breathing. Mostly, when I was a kid I swam under water, having "under water tea parties", retrieving sunken objects, and playing "shark" where you try to sneak up on people under water. Fun days, worth the headaches.

I sure miss those carefree days spent at the pool.

Hmm, now that I think about it, my hypothesis that my sinuses interacted with the chlorine also came from the sinus pressure/headaches that I used to get swimming... I don't know if it was due to the chlorine or my pre-op state, where I was having lots more headaches/sinus problems in general.

I THOUGHT I was pretty coordinated in my breathing with strokes... I know how to turn my head and breathe or whatever. The breathing issue that I have now is that I am just in bad shape so while the first few lengths I can swim without breathing except every 10 strokes (or whatever--I didn't count), at some point, if I keep doing the crawl, I am breathing every other stroke because I'm breathing faster. I assume it's the same deal in other exercise modalities, but I wouldn't know because joint pain has kept me from doing more than 3 minutes of an elliptical at a time. Still, I have a feeling that it has something to do with it being in the water.

I guess I could jog with a noodle for 30 minutes and see if it has the same effect. What's not good about that study is that not only is my head not in the water breathing (the variable I do want to isolate), but I am not involving other parts of my body like my arms, so it's also not as rigorous exercise. Still, I guess it's better than nothing, assuming I don't die of boredom.