You're undoubtedly on top of your muscle-building workouts. Adding size requires more than squats and bicep curls.
Sleeping enough every night is one of the best muscle-building practices. "Sleep is muscle development magic," Chesworth explains. An October 2014 review in Sports Medicine found that the dreamless non-REM sleep period increases hormones involved in protein synthesis. This repairs damaged muscle tissue, making muscles stronger and bigger.
Skimping on sleep can also hurt your workout the next day. In June 2022, a Sports Medicine analysis found that less than six hours of sleep severely impacted lower-body strength during afternoon activities. Physical gains are improbable without appropriate sleep, despite eating protein and lifting weights.
2. Limit Stress Before Bed
To maximize the muscle-building benefits sleep offers, minimize pre-bedtime stress. "Limiting stress may not help build muscle per se, but it can help prevent muscle loss," Todd Buckingham, PhD, exercise physiologist and visiting professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, tells LIVESTRONG.com.
2. Limit Stress Before Bed
The body releases cortisol when stressed. Chesworth says cortisol breaks down proteins and fats for energy. This mechanism is good during activity when your body demands nourishment, but it's unhelpful when growing muscle.
3. Choose a High-Protein Snack
Protein, the building block of lean tissue, is essential for increases. We must consume enough protein to maintain muscle mass, generate new tissue, and repair damage. Protein-rich snacks may be good sleep snacks. A June 2020 review in Physical Activity and Nutrition suggests consuming 40-48 grams of casein protein (30 minutes before bed) to maintain muscle-building when resting. Solution: Get enough protein from lean meats, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, and beans, lentils, and tofu.
3. Choose a High-Protein Snack
To use this approach, you must first strength-train. Muscle building requires more than eating protein before bed. To benefit, you must do resistance training before eating protein.
Resistance training is essential for muscle growth. Pumping iron before bedtime may cause two steps forward and one step back. Chesworth says activity stresses the body, which counteracts sleep's healing effects. Some folks have trouble relaxing after a late workout. Buckingham says this can delay and impair sleep. Neither outcome builds muscle.