A doctor with kiting experience on this forum ?

[flying doctor]

Great responses here, not much to add as a doctor.. apart from that it sucks when you get such serious complaints from doing something as great as kiteboarding! It probably feels like a punishment instead of the reward most of us feel after a good session.
I remember when I started kiteboarding I had some difficulties sleeping because I would get "reruns" of the session, but this wore of after some time.
As a psychiatrist I see a lot of people with sleeping disorders, mainly due to major psychiatric disorders. So I'm not sure I have anything more to add; a lot of theories here seem spot on as regards to the biochemistry: adrenaline and cortisol levels could very well hamper your sleep.
Adrenaline is best processed by mild activities such as walking. Cortisol levels may drop faster with less exposure to light. Now that days are getting shorter you may just find that the problem will get less because your biological clock reacts to that. If you can buy melatonin over the counter you could try anything up to 3mg to see if this helps (but inform your GP if you go over 1mg a day just in case).

Another thing is: sleeping is a strange activitity requiring you to "let go" of active thinking. If you find that you have more terrains in your life where "letting go" is a problem this could be something to adress. Meditation or psychological help are options then.
And a more paradoxical approach: if a good kite session gives you a sleepless night why not make plans what to do with the night? You certainly won't die from missing a night's sleep, why not profit from it? Finish that book you're reading, listen to music or start practising an instrument (your neighbours will love this last idea

Oh and if it persists: try to contact Eus van Someren in Holland: a highly respected sleep researcher who might be interested in measuring the chemistry levels, who knows; you could help science and science would help you...
http://www.neurosciencecampus-amsterdam ... /index.asp

[Westozzy]

Yeh I'm no doctor but my money is on a pyschological (Farq can't even spell it), issue rather than a biochemical one. They are interrelated though for sure.

[stijn depauw]

So many useful comments. I am very sure that an adrenal issue is at play, as Coleman and flying doctor describe it.

Actualy, I don't suffer a lot of stress in daily life, and I do live quite healthy, no smoking, fresh food, no coffee, no sugars, etc. Despite my easy going and quite healthy life, I do recognize the hormone imbalance as Coleman says.
Adrenal remains high at night, it always takes me about 7 to 8 nights (of extremely poor sleep) to get this problem reversed and sleep back normal again.

Being a kite addict, I am even considering to sell my stuff, to me kiting is a gift of the devil. One good session means 1 week of very poor sleep. If I don't kite or bike intensively, I sleep as a rose, really frustrating. If I go kiting I realize every time, that I will be punished for it. I have a very young kid and a lovely wife, they don't get much affection when I'm zombieing around for a week.
So in the end, even when you're addicted, you give up or at least consider giving up.

I am really wondering whether adrenal problems can be solved on 1-2 years with naturopath supplements, as my lifestyle is really healthy already...
Anyway I reallly want to give it a try, cause having to give up sports in my life sounds depressing. So all these comments gave me some hope. Again, thanks for all this help, it was the right place to share my problem for sure. Thanks guys !!!!!

i have seen stuff like this before in my acupuncture practice. Usually there is a hormone issue at play here with the adrenal/pituitary axis being the primary culprit.


functioning normally the adrenals should fire up early in the morning upon waking, secreting higher levels of cortisol and in the evening adrenal output should be at its lowest.

in our modern society the adrenals are often on overdrive due to stress, caffeine, sugar, food allergies, etc and over time they become depleted. at this point it is common for the adrenal output to become reversed.....low in the morning and high at night.

i suspect that you may have crossed a threshold with your hormone imbalance. meaning, you likely have had some adrenal fatigue previous to you having this sleep problem. this would mean that you may have already had higher adrenal out put at night, but now when coupled with intense workouts/kiting/biking your adrenal output remains high throughout the evening making it impossible for you to fall asleep.

i would recommend you find a good naturopath to work with. get a adrenal stress profile done. its a saliva test and it charts cortisol levels throughout the day. with the right supplements and lifestyle modifications you can expect about 1-2 years before this thing will turn around. there are no quick fixes with changing adrenal function unfortunately.

[icebird]

Try to some short low key surf sessions. Sometimes just the anticipation of tough action kicks in andrenalin. Perhaps you can disconnect that assocociation by soul surfing? Also, early kitemares may have to be worked out of the system?

[coleman]

while i am not qualified to guide people though endocrine disorders using specific supplements i can usually spot when someone needs a specialist. i dont think western medicine is your best bet in this case.

not sure where you live but you should be able to find a naturopathic doctor who has experience treating endocrine issues with natural supplementation. while you have a healthy lifestyle, your body may still need some hormone regulation. often it involves regulating the master glands (pituitary/hypothalamus) so they send the signal to the body to stop secreting certain hormones. getting this kind of response requires very specific nutriceutical protocols.

also, i have had some great success with constitutional homeopathy. for that to work well you need to find a really skilled practitioner. often that treatment can work very quickly when diagnosed correctly.