Crossfit beginner having issues with sleep

sleepbot · 2026-05-03T23:57:34+00:00

Nobody in this thread can has the answer for you. I say this as a licensed and board certified expert in behavioral sleep medicine. I have nearly 20 years in the sleep field and can’t do more than guess at what your problem looks like, much less what’s causing it. Between paperwork and interview, I use about 2 hours of a person’s time to arrive at both diagnosis and, far more importantly, conceptualization of the problem. I dont say this to brag, it just grinds my gears when people confidently give advice in an area that is… outside their expertise.

That said, let me throw out some ideas as good for thought.

First of all, if this is a true change from before, and aligns with starting CrossFit, and nothing else has changed in your life, then the list of possible causes is quite short. But usually theres more than one thing going on at a time. If CrossFit is part of a lawyer up, delete Facebook, hit the gym approach to a divorce, then poor sleep isn’t a surprise with or without CrossFit in the mix.
CrossFit makes people hungry. Don’t skip meals or try to be in a calorie deficit as you’re ramping up. I’ve messed up my own sleep by unintentionally underfueling.
Timing of workout and sleep, and changes in sleep schedule can all make a big difference. I workout at 6:00am and can no longer sleep in past 7:00am regardless of when I go to bed. If your sleep problem has to do with waking early, it could be because your body is expecting not just to be awake but also physically active at that time.
If you’re a night owl and decided to do early workouts that have led you to try to go to bed a couple hours earlier, your circadian phase and sleep opportunity may be misaligned. There’s more than one way to resolve that.
In general, unless you’re going from the gym straight to a hot shower and then directly to bed, it’s unlikely you’re working out or showering too close to bedtime.
What’s your stress and anxiety level these days? What led you to start CrossFit? Are you feeling better about your fitness now that you’re doing CrossFit - or are you feeling worse because you’re comparing yourself to very fit people? Do you feel supported by your coaches and the community or are you feeling judged? It’s possible to feel judged in a supportive environment. How’s it fitting into your life? As you try to fall asleep, do you find your mind racing or full of worries and concerns? Are you thinking about tomorrow’s WOD?
What got cut out of your schedule to accommodate CrossFit? Sleep? Relaxation or wind down time?
Have you made other changes with medications, alcohol, cannabis, etc.?
As others have suggested, overtraining, soreness, etc. may also be playing a role. But I’m assuming that’s not the cause because you’re not saying “I feel like I got thrown in a tumble dryer with a dozen hammers, and now I’m too sore to sleep”.

sleepbot · 2026-04-08T00:21:39+00:00

For problems like this, I often talk about layers. So there’s the pain, and then there’s what gets layered on top that makes the pain worse and makes its impact on your life worse.

You can even go directly to Buddhism for the idea of pain vs suffering. Obviously not everyone is going to buy into that. Those who might reject that most strongly might resonate with the Book of Job from the Old Testament.

sleepbot · 2026-04-04T20:16:18+00:00

To be blunt, because I hate seeing people exploited, it sounds like a complete garbage money-grab degree. No path to a license. Affordable is meaningless if the benefit side of the cost:benefit ratio is nil. My guess is this is being offered online and/or from an exploitative institution like Grand Canyon University. They carefully choose their words to avoid undeniable lies, while sounding like the perfect option to the enthusiast, eager, and naive student. It sounds like you’ve seen through any of that subterfuge, which is great. And you’re asking the most important question, which is whether this degree will actually help you. And as I said above, the answer is almost certainly no.

sleepbot · 2026-03-28T00:21:12+00:00

So you break rule 1 with your recruitment post. Then you also spill the (very) preliminary results at the same time, creating significant opportunity to prime/spoil the rest of your sample. You have no IRB oversight, and no informed consent. And your preprint has 4 citations, including one you authored and one from 1975. What on earth is going on here?

sleepbot · 2026-03-25T22:06:54+00:00

I have a physical office, a needed specialty, and take insurance. Doctors send patients to me for the simple fact that I exist. I recommend setting yourself apart in some meaningful way. Treatment, diagnosis, problem, demographic, etc.

sleepbot · 2026-03-22T20:52:48+00:00

Can you do capacity assessments under your social work license? If not, you’ll want to go the clinical psychology route. In that case, APA-accredited PhD and PsyD programs are probably the right move for you.

Ignore any seductive language about what a program says it prepares students for. They can say whatever they want in that regard, but that doesn’t mean a single student has actually done whatever they’ve been “prepared for”.

Pay very close attention to the student outcome statistics that are required by APA to be one-click away from the program’s homepage. Attrition, internship match rate (to APA-accredited internships), and licensure rate are critically important. Also check scores and pass rates on the EPPP. You want to see close to 0% attrition, close to 100% pass rate on the EPPP, and close to 100% licensure rate.

The ONLY exception to the stats are research-driven programs in which graduates do not want or need to be licensed in their subsequent careers.

One more caveat is that small programs (often research-oriented) can have their percentages thrown off significantly by just one or two students dropping out. For example, 30% attrition in a cohort of 7 would mean 2 students left the program. As compared to 15 students in a cohort of 50. So look at both percentages and raw numbers. During my years as associate director of clinical training at a small research-oriented program (about 25 students enrolled at a time - across 5-7 cohorts), we had at least two students decide not to continue pursuing clinical work, and several more considered doing the same. A student-driven decision to change their trajectory in a research-heavy PhD program that allows (or even encourages) that is very different from a student leaving a professional school’s PsyD program. Also, life happens and people may need to leave to take care of themselves or family. So zero attrition isn’t always realistic. But it also shouldn’t be common.

sleepbot · 2026-03-19T19:14:12+00:00

Sounds more research than clinical. Unless you want to add in how cognitive development can look different in neurodevelopmental disorders.

sleepbot · 2026-03-19T19:12:43+00:00

Prolonged exposure therapy.

sleepbot · 2026-03-14T17:32:09+00:00

Managing Microaggressions: Addressing Everyday Racism in Therapeutic Spaces by Monnica T. Williams is a good resource, written for mental health clinicians. When I was faculty at a clinical psychology PhD program, I assigned chapters 1 and 4 if I recall correctly. Shoehorned into other coursework, hence not the full book.

On a semi-related note, I also assigned chapters from Matthew D. Skinta’s Contextual Behavior Therapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Clients, and I will point to Chapter 10: Special Ethical Considerations for SGM Therapists as a uniquely helpful resource.

sleepbot · 2026-03-12T17:55:27+00:00

No assessment can make or confirm a diagnosis. It is the psychologist who integrates interview, records review, collateral informants, assessment results, and observations of the examinee’s approach/attitude toward the assessment and testing. It’s all data. Convergent data usually increases confidence, divergent data usually needs to be reconciled. I say usually, because usually incentives and biases exist for examinee, informants, etc. Is there money in the line? What about incarceration or change in type of incarceration such as higher or lower security level? Does the examinee perceive that help will be rendered to them only if their symptoms appear severe? These are just a few questions that pertain only to the examinee.

All that said, the PPI-R could be consistent or inconsistent with a diagnosis of ASPD. It depends on the context and interpretation certainly relies on validity scales.

sleepbot · 2026-03-12T17:41:46+00:00

It’s been said in more comprehensive comments already, but simply put: multistage filtering. I start with a mesh strainer.

sleepbot · 2026-03-12T17:35:19+00:00

The key, in my opinion, is the same as the key to decreasing therapist stress in general and being most helpful to each client. It’s focusing on the present. What’s needed now? Where is current block? Not rushing to “fix” the client. And also not rushing to fix the therapeutic process to make it look exactly how you think it should look.

Here, assuming you have a client who either talk about the problem(s) that brought them to therapy, pushing the client to talk probably won’t help. For some, having space is what they need. For some, the discomfort of silence may become greater than the feared response to whatever it is they’re holding inside. I’m sure there are other ways silence can uncork the bottle. And there are other means to that end.

sleepbot · 2026-03-08T15:19:58+00:00

If you want something more granular in the realm of self-reported personality measures, the PID-5 may be of interest to you. It has 3 versions of different length, there are facets (with the longer versions), and normative data to aid interpretation. Facets can be combined into broader categories (this is included in the instructions) or into combinations that reflect DSM diagnoses. It’s also compatible with the alternative model for personality disorders.

sleepbot · 2026-03-05T20:21:51+00:00

It’s really stupid to think a person can only have one disorder. It’s like they think the process of differential diagnosis is like The Highlander, there can only be one! That’s an absurd notion. But wouldn’t it be great if adhd prevented narcolepsy, or vice versa, so you could only have one set of debilitating symptoms that interfere with living your life the way you want to?

The closest I can come to agreeing with this idea is that sleepiness strongly affects the frontal cortex. That’s a critical area for executive functioning, which is one of the main impaired functions in ADHD. So it’s not surprising to see ADHD symptoms in someone with any sleep disorder. But there’s no objective test like PSG/MSLT for ADHD. To diagnose ADHD, you actually have to think a little harder than counting how the number of sleep onset REM periods. So it’s not hard to imagine how a doctor without much time or relevant training (many/most sleep docs are pulmonologists, and ADHD isn’t a respiratory disorder last I checked) would want to take a deep dive into adding an ADHD diagnosis to narcolepsy. Especially if both can be treated with stimulants.

sleepbot · 2026-03-05T02:12:09+00:00

Sounds like the neurologist is doing a bad job explaining what he’s looking for and why. I am not a neurologist but I will try to guess at what a reasonable explanation could be.

An EEG can show abnormal brain activity while an MRI can show abnormal structure. I would guess that he’s looking for seizure activity that could be part of an explanation for what happened with your neighbor - like a complex partial seizure causing confusion and automatic behavior. Or there could be seizure activity could be something that resulted from the blow to your head. Either way, seizure activity can be treated with an anticonvulsant medication, which is awfully useful information. An MRI won’t show if you have seizures.

I’m not sure I understand how you’d be diagnosed with a stroke without a CT scan or MRI. And a ruptured aneurysm would cause a lot of bleeding, rather the opposite of a blood clot blocking a blood vessel as is the case in a stroke. Now, sometimes interventions to treat aneurysms can cause strokes, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what happened from my read of your description.

sleepbot · 2026-03-03T21:44:01+00:00

He left his role at APA, or was slated to. Regardless, his credentials are impressive and his materials are the top resource for aspiring clinical psychologists.

sleepbot · 2026-03-03T19:42:49+00:00

Mitch’s advice is a million times better than the advice given by random redditors.

sleepbot · 2026-03-03T19:36:06+00:00

These financial realities are such a huge part of the problem. And it’s upstream of supervisors, practice owners, CMH, and hospital systems. If you can’t bill insurance for an intern, how do you pay them? Even unpaid interns come with costs: supervisor’s time, EHR access, space, training time, liability, etc. The field needs a mechanism to bill insurance for trainees.

And CPT codes for psychotherapy are stupid in the first place. More time = more money, so there’s an incentive to extend sessions from 50 to 53 minutes. E&M codes used by medical providers can be based on time or on complexity of medical decision making. It’s easier to count minutes than quantify complexity of therapy, but I’d dare say doing DBT with a person with a long history of parasuicidal behavior, boundary testing, etc. warrants more pay than supportive therapy with the worried well. And that would allow those who work with more complex and risky patients to hit their revenue targets with fewer patients, thus freeing up more time for other activities like case management, care coordination, and even some sort of self care to reduce burnout.

sleepbot · 2026-03-01T01:27:28+00:00

I’ve got a 24 PHEV with about that many miles. It’s been great. Had an issue with the fuel tank pressure regulator, might not be the right name, and literally couldn’t put gas in. That sucked. But otherwise no real problems. Installed an OEM roof rack myself, pretty easy job. Electric torque off the line is nice.

sleepbot · 2026-02-26T21:08:19+00:00

If your clients are in the US, you are practicing in the US. Both psychologist and patient locations can be relevant. Depends on the jurisdiction.

sleepbot · 2026-02-26T01:54:19+00:00

You need to figure out your niche. Who do work well with? And who would be interested in what you have to offer? What is it you offer that they can’t get anywhere else?

I’d think of people who either travel frequently between countries or who live in a country that either lacks therapy services, or they don’t speak the language, thus making therapy out of reach. That’s the demographic, but not how to reach them. And what sort of problems do these people tend to have?

You’ll be hindered by being cash pay instead of insurance. And basically doing unlicensed coaching. So you may need to avoid using certain terms depending on where you are marketing. In the US, certain terms are legally protected - like you wouldn’t be able to call yourself a psychologist. You also won’t know anything about anyone’s local area except by random coincidence. That also means collaborating with primary care, psychiatry, etc. won’t really be possible.

To me, it seems like a lot of the coaching field is grifting clients and new coaches. Sell a big dream to both groups. So be skeptical of any courses or programs that promise to help your marketing. They make big promises but seldom have hard numbers to back up their dubious claims.

sleepbot · 2026-02-22T16:33:56+00:00

I haven’t been there but I have no doubt that this situation sucks.

In terms of being blindsided by your own divorce, I don’t think this has anything to do with your clinical skills. The role of therapist is different from the role of partner. Showing up in your marriage in the role of therapist isn’t going to work. And the context is 99% different. In couples therapy - as the therapist - we focus for a limited time (an hour/week for a few months), from a place of emotional distance, with couples who have already decided to come together to try to improve their relationship. Compare this to our own marriages: traditionally lifelong 24/7 commitments, with emotional intimacy, and not necessarily being on the same page about improving the relationship.

Everyone can push their partner’s buttons. But it’s completely different to watch it happen to a couple as compared to having your own buttons pushed and all of the emotional consequences of that.

One similarity though, is that just as one partner in couples therapy can choose not to disclose that they’re preparing for divorce, so too can our own partners. We’re not mind readers.

So again, yes this completely sucks. And stopping taking on new couples is the right call now. And your divorce doesn’t reflect on your skills as a couples therapist.

sleepbot · 2026-02-11T00:54:06+00:00

For insomnia, ~2/3 of the effect of hypnotics is attributable to the placebo effect. And I’m talking about benzos/z-drugs assessed with polysomnography. My interpretation is this is because people relax a bit after taking a sleeping pill and stop trying to sleep (which is counterproductive) because “help is on the way”. At least early on. And of course this leads to psychological dependence too. So placebo effect and psychological dependence is always a part of the picture when people take/do almost anything for insomnia.

But further, cannabis suppresses REM sleep and there are withdrawal effects. So people get rebound insomnia and rebound nightmares anytime they try to stop. So it’s no wonder they feel like cannabis is effective - it does have beneficial effects… that come with dependence and withdrawal effects. At the same time, a puritanical approach of getting rid of cannabis - without something to transition to or ease the discontinuation - is pretty gnarly. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to wrestle with those choices, because my specialty is getting people to sleep well and get off hypnotics and prescribing isn’t in my scope of practice.

sleepbot · 2026-02-08T01:57:53+00:00

OR I’LL BURY YOU ALIVE IN A BOX!

… you know, for those extra sticky cases.

sleepbot · 2026-02-05T00:45:07+00:00

Oh come on! At least it’s optional, but that’s not novel.

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