What you do before bed can affect how you sleep and how well you recover from your workouts the next day. Everyone wants to gain muscle at an accelerated rate, and one of the most important things you can do before bed is to eat a protein-rich snack and take adequate rest which is: 7 to 9 hours of sound sleep.
7-9 Hours Is a Mandate For Muscle Growth
Sleep plays an important role in muscle recovery. Sleeping for 7-9 hours per night is critical, especially if you want to change your body composition, gain muscle mass, or be ready for your personal training session the following day. Sleep promotes muscle recovery by increasing protein synthesis and releasing human growth hormones. Inadequate sleep results in a significant decrease in growth hormone secretion. We'll get to know about the same in sections ahead.
Consuming Protein Before Bed? Is it Beneficial?
As research shows that consuming protein before bed can help you lose weight, boost muscle development, and improve overall recovery times from exercise, which will leave you feeling less tired during the day and allow you to have better workouts so that you’re able to build more muscle in the long run.
However, this doesn’t always work, as many factors influence whether you will gain muscle at night while you sleep or not. If you want to know if it’s possible to gain muscle while you sleep, then read on!
What to Eat Before Bed?
Eating protein before bed is essential for gaining muscle because as you sleep, your body produces Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which helps break down fat and build lean muscle.
If your goal is to gain mass, then having protein-rich food before bed can certainly be beneficial since it is crucial to support proper recovery and repair during sleep. However, whether or not it will help you gain muscle while you sleep will depend on many factors—most importantly, how many calories, your gut health, and restful sleep you get every night.
The Benefits of Having Protein Before Bed
Eating protein before bed can help you gain muscle while you sleep. Protein is considered one of the best nutrients for building muscle and can help you keep your gains steady.
- It helps build and preserve muscles
- Boosts your energy levels during the day
- Keep your muscles nourished while you sleep
- It improves weight loss efforts
1. It helps build and preserve muscles:
If you think that having a protein shake before bed is going to turn your body into a muscle-building machine, then yes, it will work! Eating foods containing protein contains essential amino acids that are used in rebuilding muscles. And by having a serving before you hit snooze at night, studies have shown it’s possible to gain more muscle.
2. Boosts your energy levels during the day:
The time when most people like hitting up their favorite fast food joint or stopping by their favorite coffee shop for a sugar fix is when they get home from work in the evening or after an intense workout at 6 pm or so.
Having a high-protein snack before bed can help boost your energy levels throughout the next day because it keeps your blood sugar stable. When blood sugars are balanced out, we don’t feel sluggish or hungry as much—which means we won’t overindulge as much later on.
Also check: Which protein is the best for building muscle?
3. Keep your muscles nourished while you sleep:
Most adults need about seven hours of sleep every night, but sometimes, with hectic schedules or many things competing for our attention, achieving even six hours a night is difficult.
Having a protein-rich post-workout meal directly before bed ensures that even if you get less sleep than usual one night, your muscles still have plenty of nutrients coming in to keep them healthy.
4. It improves weight loss efforts:
Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows how challenging it can be to watch what you eat and maintain workouts regularly. Having protein right before bed could help speed up your overall results since it prevents overeating and keeps your metabolism active 24/7.
Protein Rich Foods that can be taken at night
- Milk
- Cottage cheese
- Curd/Yogurt
- Lentils
- Eggs
- Lean cuts of meat
- Chicken
- Fish
- Nuts and seeds
- Whey
- Casein
Wondering how to build muscles if you are a vegetarian? Tap here.
FAQs
How does taking protein at sleep time help in muscle recovery?
Taking in protein has improved muscle recovery during sleep while avoiding excessive amounts of carbohydrates that may be stored as fat and reducing sleep quality.
Related: Myths about carbs
How much protein should I have before going to sleep?
If your goal is to gain muscle, it’s essential to consume at least 20-30 grams of protein before bed every night.
Does having protein before bedtime helps you to increase muscle strength?
Yes, it is possible to gain muscle mass and increase your strength while you sleep. A study found that elite athletes who had up to 20 grams of protein before bed increased their lean body mass by more than 3 pounds over 28 days, while those who didn’t take in any protein at night lost an average of 1.5 pounds.
This could be because when you work out, you not only break down muscle fibers but also cause micro-tears in your tendons and ligaments.
Conclusion
To sum up, taking protein before bedtime can help you improve your muscle strength and boost overall health. Some of the protein-rich foods like milk also contain magnesium which helps to get sound sleep. But, consult with the Dietitian before making any changes to your diet and to get a personalized diet plan.
What you eat matters. Find millions of items from the food database on THE WELLNESS CORNER APP and let the AI-enabled platform give you instant insights on your macronutrient breakdown and calories. Log your meals, save them if the intake is regular, analyze the findings and alter your ideal diet accordingly.
