How Can Consuming A Protein Shake Before Bedtime Help?

Anyone crazy about bodybuilding is also crazy about protein shakes. There are so many benefits of having a protein shake that once you start working out, it becomes hard to ignore it. They have a variety of other advantages besides helping you to build muscle.

Most people need protein equivalent to the amount of 0.5 grams per pound of their body weight. However, those who are indulging in other heavyweight and high-intensity exercises may need more.

The reason why protein shakes become an essential part of the diet is due to the benefits they offer. Many people have consumed protein shakes after their morning workout, which is why it makes for a convenient breakfast option as well. But do you know that consuming protein before bed has a significant impact on your fitness journey?

Benefits Of Having A Protein Drink Before Bed

The main goal of having a protein shake is to keep your body’s protein in balance. There are essential amino acids that your body needs for the muscle-building process.

Once the body undergoes a period of oxidative stress, the amino acid content goes down and creates a negative shift. After consuming a protein shake, your body gets back into a positive balance that aids in ideal muscle growth.

But what does nighttime have to do with having a protein shake?

Muscle BuildUp and Preservation

Your Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) starts working at an optimal rate once you consume a protein shake at bedtime. MPS is a biochemical reaction that is required for muscle buildup. Our muscles undergo vigorous cycles of breakdown and buildup.

However, to speed up muscle building and preservation, we need the buildup process to outweigh the breakdown process. Thus, by consuming protein before bedtime, you give your body a chance to maintain a positive protein balance.

Once you sleep, your body undergoes slight oxidative stress. This tends to enhance the breakdown process. But once you have enough protein drink at night, you do not have to worry about this.

Enhancing Energy

When there is an increase in your muscle mass, your energy levels plummet. With higher energy levels, you can work out for a longer duration.

A survey conducted in 2016 showed that having at least 40 grams of protein before bed in a shake improves the adaptive response of your skeletal muscles.  [where is this survey from?]

Your adaptive response shows how well your body can endure resistance training and intense workout exercises. Therefore, consuming protein before you go off to sleep gives your muscles a chance for repair and growth.

Boosts Sleep Quality

Once you have a protein drink before bed, your body is forced to release the amino acid tryptophan into the blood. Tryptophan has the two following functions.

• It releases the happy hormone, serotonin
• It releases the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin.

Once these two hormones are flowing in your blood, the quality of your sleep increases, you can feel more relaxed and also enter deep sleep comfortably. Moreover, it also boosts your sleep cycle, so your body’s cortisol levels stay within absolute limits.

We mentioned about the deep sleep earlier, which is also known as the NREM (Non-Rapid Eye Movement) stage. During NREM sleep, your brain starts producing Human Growth Hormone (HGH). With high levels of HGH circulating in the blood and consequently going to your muscles, your tissue repair and regeneration improves.

Enhanced Recovery

A study showed that having protein before going to bed showed excellent results with post-workout recovery. In the study, 16 healthy males were included that took part in a single type of resistance training exercise in the evening. 

The sample size was given either 40 grams protein or placebo before going to sleep. The protein was digested and used by the body effectively to increase whole-body protein synthesis as compared to the placebo.

Better Performance Chart

Consuming a protein shake before bed helped athletes become better at performing. It regulates the metabolism of skeletal muscle, which allows them to grow and strengthen. Furthermore, the following findings have also been observed.

• Boost in overnight muscle repair
• Increased overall body strength during high-intensity workouts
• Improved lean mass
• Ability to work out for a longer duration
• Enhanced muscle adaption to strength training

Accelerated Weight Loss

Are you looking for weight loss tips? Well, you might find it surprising, but consuming a protein shake before bed can help in boosting weight loss. How does that happen?

Protein shakes help in muscle building while simultaneously helping weight loss. It does so by enhancing the metabolism rate. Once your metabolism speeds up, your weight will also start to go down.

Consuming a protein shake adds a lot of protein to your gut. Now for this protein to reach your cells, there needs to be a lot of work done. While your body undergoes the process of digesting, absorbing, and assimilating amino acids, it burns a lot of calories.

These calories are burnt while you are sleeping. Thus, after consuming the shake before bed, you tend to accelerate weight loss.

However, an important point to look out for is to take care of the calorie intake. If you consume more calories than you need, then the protein shake will not be beneficial for you because it will contribute towards weight gain.

Another essential thing that protein does is that it reduces hunger pangs. The hormone responsible for causing hunger pangs is ghrelin. Instead of promoting ghrelin, protein boosts the production of leptin, which is the satiety hormone.

Once you are on a low-protein weight loss program, your muscles start breaking down. This leads  to sagging skin. Consuming pre-sleep protein drinks helps in the prevention of saggy skin, which is one of the most common side effects of weight loss.

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