Am I doing the right thing to skip workout when not getting enough sleep?

Often time due to work related issues, I can't get more than 5~6 hours of sleep. My original plan was to workout 3 times a week. I do weightlifting, with some cycling as warm up and cool off. The problem is when I do not get enough sleep, I feel terrible even before getting up. Not only my muscles would feel sore for 5 days instead of just 2, I get such headache and feel my heart is beating faster than normal. So in such cases, I often skip my workout. I know it makes my effort half-assed.... but do I have a choice? Am I doing the right thing to skip workout?

 

You need to get more sleep, otherwise your body wont be able to progress nearly as fast, it will actually be more harmful than beneficial and you will start hating the whole situation.

If possible find some free time where you can at least take a nap, find some physical comfort as well for the pain the body will experience, unless your work requires you to use your body constantly in which way you'd have to figure out a way to lower the amount of physical stress you experience while you're at it.

 

For me I actually do some quick exercises if I can't do full ones, just so I can have my exercise. It also helps me fall asleep faster, so that's another perk of it. You don't need to spend an hour running on the treadmill or anything, a few stretches will do and a few minutes running, anything that will justify an exercise routine while you head to bed. Anyway, good luck, and I hope you get some free time soon!

 

Actually, sleep is more important AFTER you train, not before, most of the muscle repair aspect that occurs long after you had a workout happens while you are sleeping, so even if the opposite is true, you had a great workout but then you failed to get enough sleep, you are not exactly wasting your time but you are not going to be able to make much progress. I also skip workouts once in a while if I was unable to have a good night sleep, but your situation there sounds chronic , you have to put your sleeping situation under control, even if it means stopping all workouts for a while and trying some time management or something.

 

I know plenty of sleep is required to repair and to grow muscles after a workout. Yet, without sleeping enough before the workout it hurts my performance during the workout as well as making me feel bad enough wanting to skip the workout all together.

My work is not physical related, yet the schedule often require me to work at late hours. Thus it is causing me not getting enough sleep.

I wish I have the time to take a nap, but most of the time I don't have it. The a few times I was able to nap for more than 1 hour I would end up not be able to fall asleep quickly at my normal sleeping time.

 

Your body needs to recharge itself fully or you are just wearing yourself out and you wont see the gains you want. Too many people think that exercising to the point of failure is going to get them better results but you need your sleep in order to see it as well. I wouldn't necessarily skip out altogether; however, tone down your work out and maybe do a bit more cardio instead of heavy lifting for that day.

 

You definitely need to get that sleep if you feel that your body demands it.
Sleeptime is when the body regenerates its tissues, which means it's very crucial to have when trying to build.
Sleep deprivation can both harm your metabolism as well as be dangerous when doing various excersises that demand your complete concentration and lucidity.
It also sounds like you have some signs of prologued fatigue. A non-fullfilling sleep can also be caused by daytime stress, which would then make you feel like a zombie in the morning. That's basicaly light-sleeping induced by anxiety. If you do experience a lot of stress try to go to sleep with your last thoughts being about stuff that you like or makes you happy (I know it sounds silly but it works). Also make sure you eat all the necessary foods and vitamins your body needs, because sleep problems can have a detrimental effect on the immune system.

 

Fitness is about mental strength as much as it is about physical strength. You need to ensure that you get enough sleep to let your body recover and rebuild.

 

Well, when it comes to powerlifting, I've found that not getting enough sleep BEFORE hurts ya because pushing maximal weight and being sleepy is a no no.

With bodybuilding type workouts, not getting enough sleep hurts you AFTER the fact not allowing you to recover enough.

In other words, make sure you sleep 8 hours at least every possible time you can. I'm sure you figured that since it's pretty much the common solution in all these replies.