The Importance Of Sleep For Muscle Training

It's a popular saying that muscles are torn in the gym, fed in the kitchen, and nurtured during sleep. Still, adequate sleep remains the most ignored element when it comes to building muscle and workout sessions.

In this piece of information, we would be reading about sleep’s importance for bodybuilding and how it helps us refresh our brain function and bodies after a night of good REM sleep or after brain boosters consumption.

Let us first gain a clear and complete understanding of the two main stages of sleep to understand the impact of sufficient sleep on muscle recovery.

REM Sleep: It happens in sleep cycles of approximately 90-120 minutes. REM sleep accounts for about 20-25 percent of total sleep duration in adult humans. It offers the required energy to our brain that supports it during waking hours. It dominates the latter half of the sleep period, usually the hours before we wake up. During REM Sleep, the human body can restore bones, tissue, and organs while circulating human growth hormone and replenishing immune cells. REM sleep has a profound effect on physical well-being and muscle growth.
Non-REM sleep: Also known as deep sleep or slow-wave, non-REM sleep is critical for restoring the body and muscle recovery. It accounts for approximately 40-45 percent of the total sleep time. The supply of blood to muscles increases during this sleep stage which, in turn, delivers extra amounts of nutrients and oxygen to the body facilitating healing and growth. During this phase of sleep, tissues and muscles are rejuvenated. As our body enters the non-REM deep sleep stage, growth hormone that stimulates muscle repair and tissue growth get released by our pituitary gland.

Sleep Importance For Bodybuilding

When we sleep, our body excretes growth hormones (GH), and a majority of major muscle growth, repair, and recovery functions take place during our nighttime sleep. Moreover, anabolic hormones such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and testosterone are at their peak when our body is at complete rest during nighttime sleep.

According to research, our body can still lift heavy or perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) training when we are sleep-deprived. However, the body is unable to recover properly from the micro-traumas and ends up entering the fatigue zone sooner. This is because our body fails to metabolize glucose thoroughly during a state of sleep deprivation and therefore fatigues easily.

Brain, Sleep, And Cortisol

Sleep deprivation can delay the reaction time of our brain which can be dangerous both on the gym floor as well as outside. This is because delayed brain reactions can make our body vulnerable to severe injuries. Furthermore, inadequate sleep tends to stimulate an increase in the secretion of cortisol (stress hormone) in our bodies. According to studies, the level of cortisol in our body still struggles to come back to its normal range due to the circadian rhythm (nature’s clock).

Different research suggests that individuals who sleep less than 5 hours usually stay in the catabolic state (their bodies break muscles for energy). Therefore, they lose a lot of hard-earned muscles instead of losing body fat. Therefore, it's important to have at least 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night to improve mental alertness and avoid sleep disorders.

How To Get Adequate Sleep?

Unfortunately, the quality of sleep may not be sufficient for most of us even though we do fall asleep. The following ways can help us get that good night’s sleep and reap the benefits of sleep’s importance for bodybuilding.

Avoid oversleeping: Oversleeping can set the body clock to a different cycle. It can later turn your attempts to fall asleep much harder.
Take a warm bath: A warm bath 30-60 minutes before sleep can help your muscles soothe and relax, inducing sleep.
Exercise: Regular exercise, especially aerobic, during the day can tire one out to induce faster sleep at night. However, intense training and workout sessions during late evenings can have the opposite effect.
Avoid certain foods and drinks: You should avoid alcohol, caffeine, and Tyrosine-rich foods during the evening or night. For instance, caffeine results in wakefulness and hyperactivity while alcohol disrupts sleep by interfering with sleep stages. On the other hand, Tyrosine-rich foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds can keep you awake for long.
Avoid sleeping pills: Sleeping pills can disturb natural sleep patterns and should be avoided.
Ideal sleeping environment: Your bedroom should be reasonably cool. Soft background music can be helpful to induce sleep.
Avoid screens in the bedroom: You should avoid the use of mobiles, television, laptops, etc. in your bedroom at least 2-3 hours before your usual sleep time.

Things For You To Know

Less sleep means more eating: In the absence of sufficient sleep, your body reduces the production of a hormone (leptin) that indicates when you feel full after a meal and increases the level of an appetite-inducing hormone (ghrelin) to increase hunger and food intake. Moreover, lack of quality sleep can result in impaired glucose tolerance and increased diabetes risk, as a result of insulin sensitivity without adequate compensation in beta-cell function.
Sleep improves muscle coordination: Sleep of at least 9 hours every day can improve alertness, concentration, memory, and cognitive function. It can also improve reaction time and speeds while inducing overall mental and physical health improvements.
Sleep prevents illness: As we sleep, our body produces cytokines (molecules that help the immune system fight infections). However, lack of quality sleep can increase the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that impair the functioning of the immune system. Furthermore, sleep deprivation can make preventative health measures less effective.

Remember, your body is your biggest asset and you can ensure quality performance and good health by maintaining a good balance between your diet, exercise, and sleep.