Building Muscles in Your Sleep

You work hard to make the most of your gym time.

From the moment you walk through the doors, you’re pumped and ready to go. You’ve fueled up on muscle-building foods, you’ve brought all the right gear, and you’ve mastered your routine so you know exactly how much weight to lift to get the best results possible.

However, what you do outside of the gym can have a huge impact on what you do inside the gym. Your downtime is just as important to building muscles as hitting the machines and pumping out those reps.

If you want to make maximize your fat-burning, muscle-ripping results in the shortest time possible, then you might want to start by grabbing a nearby pillow and catching a few extra Zzz’s.

What Happens if You Don’t Get Enough Sleep?

Although it may seem counterintuitive to think that you can build muscle by simply doing nothing, getting a good night’s sleep is imperative for maximizing your muscle gain. At night, your body will be hard at work strengthening your muscle fibers, secreting muscle-building hormones, and supercharging your metabolism for your next gym session, and in fact, nearly 40% of your muscle growth occurs when you’re asleep.

On the other hand, if you neglect this essential phase of your muscle-building regimen, then you’ll be sabotaging your efforts to sculpt leaner, stronger muscles. Need a little more persuasion? Just take a look a few of the problems associated with sleep deprivation and the impact it can have on your body.

Let’s face it: without sleep, your reflexes won’t be as sharp and your muscles won’t be as strong.

Bump Up Your Protein Before Bed

Before you hit the sack a little early tonight, keep in mind there’s more to building muscles in your sleep than simply catching some shut-eye.

In order to build bigger, stronger muscles in your sleep, you need to make sure that your body has all the nutrients it needs to facilitate that growth. What you eat after your workout and before bed could make or break your performance.

According to Luc J.C. Van Loon, PhD and professor of Physiology at Maastricht University Medical Center, “We’ve previously established that muscle protein synthesis rates are quite low during overnight recovery as this might be attributed to the fact that there are not as many amino acids available during night.”

And in a study published in American Journal of Physiology, elderly men who consumed 35 grams of whey protein experienced greater muscle growth than the control group.

If you workout late and don’t have time for a full-meal before bed, try to slip in a protein snack or shake to give your muscles that extra boost they need.

Final Thoughts

To make sure you’re getting the most out of the time you spend outside of the gym, be sure to give your body the extra care it needs for building muscles by stocking up on the protein and getting plenty of rest between workouts.

Don’t know which protein supplement you should try before bed? You can read about the best protein supplements here and determine which product is right for you with the latest inside information and consumer reviews.