Centr Team
Is a lack of sleep killing your muscle gains?
So, your muscle gains have hit a brick wall. The problem may not be your lifting form, the number of reps you plough through, or even your diet…
Sleep and muscle growth go hand in hand, and if you’re not getting enough you could be blocking your own progress.
So how important is sleep for muscle growth? Let’s get the lowdown so you can get those gains.
Are my sleep habits making me lose muscle?
While you sleep, your body gets busy repairing muscles so they grow bigger and stronger. This process is known as muscle protein synthesis – and it can be disrupted by poor sleep.
Just 24 hours of sleep deprivation, or a 5-day stretch where your sleep is restricted, is enough to lower your body’s rate of muscle protein synthesis.
But that’s not where the story ends. When you do hit a rough patch with your sleep, squeezing a HIIT workout into your day can actually prevent this drop-off – maintaining muscle growth and preventing muscle loss.
If you’re looking for a HIIT session to maintain your gains, look no further: the 6-week Centr workout program Hybrid Strong combines HIIT with high-intensity strength training in efficient 30 to 35-minute workouts to keep you strong. Bonus: you’ll be burning body fat and boosting cardio fitness at the same time.
Did you know HIIT can prevent muscle loss from lack of sleep? Double down on your gains with strength training and HIIT cardio in Hybrid Strong.
How much sleep do I really need to gain muscle?
The Sleep Foundation’s recommendation is that adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. A recent study aimed to find what impact reducing that base 7 hours of sleep by one or two hours would have on men’s muscle mass after resistance training.
Researchers found that getting only 5 to 6 hours’ sleep didn’t affect strength gains or body composition – these men had much the same results as those who had 7 hours’ sleep. While the study was limited, it does suggest that the amount of sleep required to lock in muscle gains may differ between individuals.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t aim for more when possible. Hitting the 7-9 hours sleep zone delivers plenty of other health benefits like improved mental function, a boosted immune system and a reduced risk of dementia.
Does the quality of my sleep make a difference?
It’s not just about how long you sleep, but how well you sleep. You already know if you’re tossing and turning all night, that you don’t wake up refreshed.
Well, a study has also found that as sleep quality decreases, muscle mass decreases. And when both sleep quality and duration go down, fat mass increases. The good news is that by maintaining sleep duration and quality, you can maintain muscle and inhibit the accumulation of body fat.
But how do you improve your sleep quality? Discover how the 10-3-2-1-0 rule could help you unlock a better night’s rest.
Help, I’m not getting enough sleep!
If you need some help getting regular zzzs, we have all the resources you need.
- Start with our ultimate guide to better sleep.
- What’s for dinner? 8 nutrition tips to (finally) get a decent sleep.
- Overactive brain keeping you awake? 4 meditations for anxiety and sleep.
- Say goodnight with Power Sleep by Chris Hemsworth.
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