You want to build muscle faster, but you also have a busy schedule. What’s the solution? Well, getting more sleep is one way to make your body grow faster without spending more time in the gym. But how much sleep is enough for your muscles to recover and grow stronger? Is 6 hours of sleep enough for muscle growth? Let’s find out!
Is 6 Hours of Sleep Enough to Build Muscle?
6 hours of sleep is enough to build muscle. It is because, after 24 hours of sleeping, your body begins its muscle-building process. However, the best sleeping hours require 7-8 hours of sleep which will give you proper sleep and also wake up. Make sure to wake up early before 7 hours so that you can begin your day and also not miss it.
How Much Sleep Do You Need to Build Muscle?
- There has been a long debate about how much sleep you need to grow muscle. In the past, there was really no clear guideline; many people believed that the absence of muscle growth happened if only 5-6 hours per night were spent asleep.
- Counting the time that you sleep is most often hard to calculate, but you definitely don’t want to underestimate your body’s need for sleep as it will affect your overall fitness level. How Much Sleep Do You Need for Muscle Growth and Fat Loss? Everyone has their own “ideal” amount of quality sleep each night but based on The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the International Classification of Sleep Disorders the recommendation is: “Shoot for sleeping at least 8hrs per day (Night Owl), fight sleep deprivation with rich and consistent good old fashioned devotional thoughts about Jesus, follow these healthy daily practices for boosting your mindfulness:
- Try taking an extra 1 hour each day after your bedtime in bed just lying or reading. Avoid naps, caffeine, or other stimulation. Try talking with a spouse early in your run-up to bed, but avoid telling them what you are planning to do in order not to spur paranoia
- In case you live under a rock, they recommend 2-5 hours between 10 pm and 7 am (night owl). 7 am –midday 5 pm-midnight 4hrs before bedtime – 6hrs after it (larks first thing in the morning).
Why Is Sleep Important For Muscle Growth?
It Helps Maintain Muscle Mass
One of the most important reasons why sleep is important for muscle growth is because of the impact it has on resting metabolic rate. Put simply, the more muscle you have on your body, the more energy (or calories) you burn each day. This means that if your goal is to build muscle, you’ll want to keep your metabolism as high as possible in order to encourage muscle growth. But how does this impact sleep? Well, when we sleep, our metabolism slows to its lowest point of the day. On the other hand, when we’re awake and active, our metabolism remains elevated as our bodies burn energy to fuel our daily activities. To ensure that you maintain rather than lose muscle mass, it’s important to get enough sleep each night. This will slow down your resting metabolic rate, meaning that your body will burn fewer calories, but it will also help to avoid overtraining, which is caused by excess activity and insufficient rest.
It Improves Physical Performance
Some studies suggest that sleep deprivation can reduce physical performance by up to 20%, which is particularly worrying when it comes to resistance training. You might think that the extra energy burned during your workouts coupled with a lower resting metabolic rate while awake would be a good thing, but it’s actually the opposite. An increase in energy expenditure (the rate at which your body burns calories) while exercising is necessary for muscle growth and, as we’ve discussed, sleep slows down your resting metabolic rate. While it’s clear that you need to get enough sleep if you want to build muscle, it’s less clear why sleep is important for physical performance. While scientists don’t fully understand the relationship between sleep, physical performance, and muscle growth, there are a few theories that attempt to explain the correlation.
It Helps With Nutrition and Diet Awareness
If you’re trying to build muscle, you’ll need to make sure that you’re getting enough calories, protein, and vitamins and minerals from your diet. However, this can be tricky when you’re working long hours, traveling a lot, or simply trying to balance your social life with your fitness goals. While you can’t do anything to speed up the time it takes your body to digest food and make use of the nutrients it contains, you can help your body make the most of the food you’ve eaten. When we sleep, our bodies secrete growth hormones, which are important for tissue repair and the formation of new muscle. Although it’s not clear exactly how, it appears that getting enough sleep can help to regulate your metabolism, which, in turn, can boost muscle growth.
It Helps Protect Against Tissue Breakdown
Although building muscle is a key goal, it’s important to also maintain the muscle that you already have. However, when you’re sleep-deprived, your body experiences what is known as ‘muscle breakdown’. This can occur for a variety of reasons, including a lack of protein, dehydration, and poor blood flow. However, getting enough sleep can help to protect against tissue breakdown, which is good news for those trying to avoid losing their muscle mass.
It Improves Psychological Wellbeing
Although researchers are yet to fully understand the relationship between sleep and psychology, it has been suggested that there may be a link between the two. While not directly connected to muscle growth, getting enough sleep can have a range of other benefits for both your physical and mental health. It’s also important to remember that there are many different sleep patterns, and people don’t always follow a set ‘normal’ pattern. There are several different reasons why sleep is important for muscle growth, and it’s important to remember that you don’t have to sacrifice your sleep to build muscle. In fact, the opposite is true: in order to build muscle, you need to get enough sleep!
6 Hours Of Sleep For Stronger Muscles
- Let’s go back to the Harvard study that found people who sleep for 6 hours per day grow muscles at a slower rate compared to those who sleep for 8 hours per day.
- The Harvard study focused on healthy adults who were getting 6 and 8 hours of sleep per day. So is 6 hours of sleep enough for muscle growth in people living unhealthy lifestyles? We don’t know for sure. However, we do know that people who sleep for 6 hours per day can still build muscles at a faster rate than those who sleep for less than 6 hours.
- So even though 6 hours of sleep isn’t enough for healthy adults to gain muscle, it’s still enough for people living unhealthy lifestyles to build muscle faster.
The Dangers Of Falling Short On Sleep
- Now that we know how much sleep is enough for muscle growth, let’s talk about the dangers of falling short on sleep.
- A study monitored the sleep patterns of healthy young adults and found that sleeping for less than 6 hours can slow down muscle growth by 30%. Sleeping for less than 6 hours per day can also negatively affect your body’s metabolism.
- A slow metabolism means that your body burns fewer calories than it should. So although sleeping for less than 6 hours can slow down your muscle growth, it can also make you gain weight.
- In fact, sleeping for 6 hours or less can make you grow fatter at a faster rate than healthy adults who sleep for more than 6 hours per day.
3 Ways To Make 6 Hours Of Sleep Enough For Muscle Growth
- Now that we know 6 hours of sleep is enough for muscle growth, let’s talk about 3 ways you can make 6 hours of sleep enough for muscle growth.
- First, make sure you go to bed early enough. Harvard researchers found that people who go to bed between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. grow muscles at a faster rate than those who go to bed after 11 p.m. Second, make sure you’re getting the right amount of light during the day.
- Harvard researchers found that light during the day is critical for muscle growth. This means that you should get 20 minutes of natural light for every 2 hours of indoor light.
Conclusion
Is 6 hours of sleep enough to build muscle? Yes, it is. Getting 6 hours of sleep is enough to make your body grow new muscle fibers at a faster rate. However, getting 8 hours of sleep is the ideal amount. Sleep for 8 hours to maximize your muscle growth. If you want to build muscle faster, try getting 8 hours of sleep per day, going to bed early, and exposing yourself to natural light during the day.