A lot of people think muscles grow while you work out. That isn't true.
When you work out, you damage your muscles. Tiny tears in the muscle fibers. It sounds strange, but that's exactly the point. Your body responds to that damage by making the muscles stronger and bigger than they were before.
But that recovery process? It doesn't happen at the gym. It happens in your bed.
What happens in your muscles at night
As soon as you drop into deep sleep, your body starts the real work. Your pituitary gland, a small gland in your brain, releases growth hormone. That hormone is your body's contractor. It signals your muscle tissue to repair the damage from training and build new, stronger muscle fibers.
No deep sleep, no growth hormone. No growth hormone, no muscle growth.
It doesn't matter how hard you train, how well you eat or how much protein you get. If your sleep is poor, you don't build muscle. You only break it down.
What too little sleep does to your body after training
Sleeping less than six hours after a hard workout? Then your growth hormone production drops sharply. Your muscles don't get the time or the resources to fully recover.
And there's more. Too little sleep raises your cortisol level. Cortisol is your stress hormone, and it does exactly the opposite of growth hormone. It breaks muscle tissue down instead of building it up.
So short sleep after a workout is a double loss. Less building and more breakdown at the same time.
You're wearing your body down and never giving it the chance to bounce back.
Protein without sleep is money down the drain
A lot of athletes keep a close eye on their protein intake. Makes sense, because protein is the building block of muscle. But protein can only do its job when growth hormone gives the signal to build.
That signal comes during deep sleep.
You can eat as much protein as you like. If you sleep badly, you're handing your body building materials without a contractor. Nothing gets built.
How to get the most out of your recovery
Sleep at least seven to nine hours after a hard workout. Not six hours and hoping that's enough. Your body needs time to go through all its rounds of deep sleep.
Don't train too late in the evening. Intense exercise raises your cortisol level and body temperature. Both make it harder to get into deep sleep quickly. Try to be done with your workout at least two hours before bed.
Make sure you breathe through your nose while you sleep. Nasal breathing slows your breathing, lowers your heart rate and gets your body into the deep sleep phase, where growth hormone is made, faster. Mouth breathing keeps your body slightly switched on and slows that process down.
Keep your bedroom cool. Your body recovers best at a temperature between 16 and 19°C. The faster your body temperature drops, the faster you get into deep sleep.
Your habit for this week
After every workout, plan a night of at least seven hours of sleep. Not as a bonus, but as part of the training itself.
Sleep isn't the reward for hard work. It's where the hard work pays off.
1% better every night.
Guy Veeke
PS. Want to get the most out of your recovery after training? Start with nasal breathing while you sleep. Our Transparent Nasal Strips keep your nose open, so your body reaches the deep sleep phases where the real muscle growth happens. Check them out here: our Transparent Nasal Strips
