Does Lack of Sleep Affect Muscle Growth?
An evidence-based approach on the link between sleep and muscle gains
How much sleep would you say you get each night? Are you a caffeine junky running off of 4 hours of sleep every night or are you well rested with 8+ hours? Sleep is essential for not only performance, but also muscle growth. Not enough sleep might be the reason why you're not seeing the progress you're looking for.
Today's blog post explains how lack of sleep can be affecting your gains! Keep reading to learn more!
The Importance of Sleep
Whether you're a bodybuilder, athlete, or fitness enthusiast, we all know that sleep is essential for optimum performance.
Although exercise is a way to boost energy and increase endurance and strength, proper rest is necessary for muscle adaptation and injury prevention.
With the busy flow of life, it's easy to go to bed late and wake up early, which only allow a small window for proper rest. Did you know that while you sleep, the body is working to repair itself from muscle breakdown while also using this time to build muscle mass?
While we have broken down the importance of sleep in a previous blogpost, this article will focus solely on how sleep affects overall muscle growth and recovery and tips to getting proper sleep.
Keep scrolling to learn more!
How Sleep Supports Muscle Growth & Recovery
If you're a consistent gym goer, you're most likely training for performance, strength, or physique goals. Along with that, the intensity of your session is going to matter. Without fuel in the tank, workout intensity and consistency drops. When is the last time you had a stellar lift while only running on 4 hours of sleep and too much caffeine? Most likely, the answer is no, while optimal lifts are a result of adequate sleep.
How does sleep support muscle growth and recovery?
Well, first of all, the quantity of sleep matters the most with respect to training. The more Z's you get, the better and faster muscle growth and recovery will be.
Insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas is essential for the muscle growth we are talking about. The role of insulin is to transport amino acids into cells to be used for protein synthesis. To recall, protein synthesis is the process in which cells replicate, fuse themselves to muscle fibers, and form new muscle protein strands (ScienceDirect, n.d). In other words, this is the process that grows and builds muscle. With that said, adequate sleep is essential for keeping this hormone functioning as it should. Without proper sleep, insulin production is altered or decreased, thus impacting the ability for muscles to grow.
As for recovery purposes, sleep is also essential for muscle repair. Human growth hormone, HGH, is another hormone that is produced and responsible for muscle recovery. A higher amount of HGH is released while you sleep rather than the amount produced upon waking hours.
A study done by the University of Chicago indicates that your body will produce less growth hormone when associated with sleep deprivation, thus leading to loss of muscle mass and limited exercise capacity (Chicago Tribune, 2000).
Last but not least, the amount of sleep impacts the replenishment of muscleglycogen. Glycogen is one of the body's main fuel sources that get's depleted during exercise (Murray & & Rosenbloom, 2018). To sum this up, lack of sleep detriments the body's ability to replenish your muscle's main energy source.
Lack of Sleep = Lack of Muscle Growth
Did you know that without enough sleep, your muscle mass potentially decreases? Overtime, lack of sleep can be damaging to your metabolic function. A study found by the NCBI indicates that chronic sleep loss is associated with catabolic stressors and results in the loss of muscle mass and functioning abilities. That said, inadequate sleep affects the body's metabolic process, thus making it harder to maintain muscle mass, slows the speed of fat loss, and decreases muscle protein synthesis.
Another interesting study found that not only does poor sleep quality risks muscle mass reduction, but also affects muscle strength. Results indicated that the group of men with shorter sleep duration (<6 hours) had poorer muscle strength than the group of men with a 7-8 hour sleep duration (Chen & Cui, et al, 2017).
Studies aside, it's safe to say that prioritizing sleep is crucial for muscle growth, recovery, and performance. Lack of sleep may lead to lack of muscle gains!
How Much Sleep Do You Need?
Sleep is not only important for optimal muscle growth and recovery, but is also essential to feel rested and properly function.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults 18+ get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night, while teens and children should strive for 8-10 hours each night.
Additionally, if you're an athlete or training intensly, a recommended 9+ hours of sleep each night will be beneficial for optimal rest and recovery.
Tips to better achieve restful sleep:
1. Create a regular sleep schedule
A good 7-9 hours is an ideal amount of time to set aside for quality sleep. Creating a consistent sleep schedule will allow your body to recognize sleep to wake times within the body's natural 24-hour cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. Aim to get in bed at the same time each night and set your alarm for the same time each morning and your body will begin to recognize and stick to this pattern. Weekends too!
2. Avoid caffeine and/or alcohol consumption before bed
Caffeine and alcohol are both stimulates, causing the body to be more alert and restless. Although it may be hard to accomplish, it is recommended to avoid caffeine 5-6 hours before bedtime each night. Similarly, alcohol has the same effect. This is because the body processes alcohol at the same time that it is trying to get into a deep sleep, creating an interference with this process. While one glass of wine may suffice, try to limit alcohol if you're struggling to fall and stay asleep.
3. Unplug electronics 1-2 hours before bed
Closing the laptop and putting your phone down before bed will give you the chance to relax sooner before falling asleep. Additionally, blue light exposure from our phones and screens disrupts natural melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone produced in the body to help calm and regulate sleep-wake rhythms in the body.
It might be beneficial to keep your phone outside of your room to limit distractions and allow you to fall asleep more quickly.
4. Exercise regularly
Regular exercise may be beneficial to your sleep cycle. Engaging in moderate to intense exercise for at least 30 minutes each day can impact the quality and quantity of sleep greatly. Strenuous exercise creates a greater need for sleep as the body is more susceptible to fatigue and tiredness. Additionally, regular exercise relieves stress and reduces cortisol levels by releasing endorphins throughout the body; endorphins help alleviate pain, while also promoting restful sleep.
Keep in mind that working out too close to bedtime may impact your ability to fall asleep as exercise is a way to increase energy, making you feel a bit more wired.
5. Practice meditation or breathing techniques
If you find yourself unable to fall asleep due to anxiety, stress, or a busy mind, try meditations or breathing techniques. This will allow your brain to turn off and relax before it's time to sleep. These techniques help quiet the mind and body and may help reduce insomnia by promoting calmness (Healthline, 2020). With meditation, physiological changes occur throughout the body, putting you into a more peaceful state and helps to decrease stress.
6. Use a supplement that promotes restful sleep
What is nighttime sleep-aid exactly? "Sleep aids are over-the-counter supplements intended to help you fall asleep faster or stay asleep throughout the night," stated by Sleep Foundation. Supplements such as melatonin, l-theanine, and ashwagandha are all examples of natural supplements that promote restful sleep.
MetaBurn PM, one of AstroFlav's newest and most popular products, has the safe, clean, and effective ingredients you're looking for. MetaBurn PM contains 2mg of melanonin, l-theanine, and ashwagandha to reduce the time to fall asleep and increase sleep duration.
Additionally, this supplement supports nighttime metabolism boost in addition to fat-burning while you sleep.
The Bottom Line:
Lack of sleep affects muscle growth in many ways. Reduced amount of sleep interferes with our body's natural processes that occur while we sleep. This includes protein synthesis, glycogen replenishment, and overall muscle repair.
Sleep deprivation is overlooked and often covered up by grinding out the day and excessive caffeine. However, without enough sleep, your muscle gains could be put at risk. With adequate sleep each night, the body has time to repair and grow the muscles that were broken down during exercise to be bigger and stronger.
Luckily, there are many ways in which you can strive for a better night of rest. These ways include avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed, engaging in regular exercise, meditation, and utilizing a safe sleep-aid supplement to help you fall asleep and stay asleep!
That said, sleep is essential for athletic performance and our overall daily functioning. It's important to prioritize sleep not only for our muscle gains, but also for our wellbeing!
RESOURCES
Muscle Hypertrophy. Muscle Hypertrophy - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.).
Chicago Tribune: Chicago News, sports, weather, entertainment - chicago tribune. (n.d.).
Murray, B., & Rosenbloom, C. (2018). Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes.
Lamon & Morabito, et al, (2021). The effect of acute sleep deprivation on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and the hormonal environment. Physiological Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.14660
Chen, Y., Cui, Y., Chen, S., & Wu, Z. (2017). Relationship between sleep and muscle strength among Chinese university students: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Musculoskeletal & Neuronal Interactions, 17(4), 327-333. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5749041/
At AstroFlav, we want the best for our customers. It is our goal to help everyone achieve their fitness goals and steer them in the right direction with trust-worthy advice AND trust-worthy supplements!
MetaBurn PM contains the most revolutionary and cutting-edge sleep-inducing ingredient, Zylaria™, the powerful metabolism-boosting ingredient MitoBurn® to supercharge fat-burning while you sleep, along with Sensoril® ashwagandha to improve and manage stress levels. ALL this while you sleep.
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Wake Up Energized Without a Sleep “Hangover"
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Our products are made in cGMP compliant facilities in the United States, using only the best ingredients from domestic & international origins. For us, it's all about quality control - so you can have confidence in your dietary supplements.
MetaBurn PM contains the most revolutionary and cutting-edge sleep-inducing ingredient, Zylaria™, the powerful metabolism-boosting ingredient MitoBurn® to supercharge fat-burning while you sleep, along with Sensoril® ashwagandha to improve and manage stress levels. ALL this while you sleep.
Reduce time to fall asleep.
Sleep More, Stress Less.
Increase Sleep Duration. Sleep Better and Longer.
Nighttime Metabolism Boost.
Feel Refreshed, Renewed and Re-Energized.
Wake Up Energized Without a Sleep “Hangover"
Unlock the deepest sleep from within while boosting your metabolism and burning fat.
Our products are made in cGMP compliant facilities in the United States, using only the best ingredients from domestic & international origins. For us, it's all about quality control - so you can have confidence in your dietary supplements.
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