How Sleep Affects Your Gains (And How To Get More Of It!)

How Sleep Affects Your Gains (And How To Get More Of It!)

How important is sleep for muscle growth? Well, if there’s one aspect of building muscle and losing fat that’s most underrated, it’s definitely sleep. In fact, sleep may be the exact reason why others seem to progress much faster than you are, or why you just aren’t seeing the results you were hoping for despite putting in the work.

Multiple studies illustrate the importance of sleep for muscle gains. One paper tested this and they found that the sleep deprived group (5.5 hours per night) lost 60% more muscle mass and 55% less fat than a group that slept 8.5 hours per night! Thus, you can see how sleep and gaining muscle go hand in hand. And this is likely because sleep impacts your hormones (testosterone), muscle recovery, and workout performance. So long story short – get enough sleep!

But how much sleep do you need to build muscle? Around 7-9 hours is generally what’s recommended, with more active individuals requiring closer to the higher range or even more. But what can you do if you aren’t getting enough sleep? Well, you can sleep better. There are a few methods you can use to improve your sleep quality and reduce the time it takes you to fall asleep. These include improving your sleep hygiene (avoid electronic use 30 mins before bed, use the bedroom strictly for sleep and where the magic happens, and avoiding caffeine within 6 hours before bed). Other than that, you just need to try your best to get adequate sleep every night. Because failing to do so can definitely negatively impact your gains.
Now, sleep is just one of many factors (let alone your training and nutrition) that you'll want to optimize if you're seeking to build muscle and lose fat as quickly as possible.
And if you're looking for a workout and nutrition plan that does this for you by combining all the research I do into a step-by-step program catered to your body type...
...such that you can transform your body as efficiently as possible AND maximize your efforts in the gym...
Then simply head on over to the link below to find out what science-based program is best for you:
https://builtwithscience.com/bws-free...

WRITTEN ARTICLE:
https://builtwithscience.com/sleep-an...

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STUDIES:
Sleep and gains:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?...
Sleep’s effect on protein breakdown and fat storage metabolites:
https://advances.sciencemag.org/conte...
Sleep and testosterone:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Daytime naps:
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fu...
Improve sleep hygiene:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
https://link.springer.com/article/10....
Caffeine ingestion and sleep:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...