Eat Before Bed to Build Muscle?

You may have spent much of your life being told not to eat too close to bedtime, but that’s to lose weight or prevent it from being put on - in fact you may need to eat before bed to build muscle. It can be hard to retrain your body to do this, but it’s an important step in providing your body with the tools it needs to build muscle.

This concept is important and has a scientific basis. Muscle is built during rest – not while you’re at the gym. So when you’re at rest, you need to provide your body with what it needs to repair your muscle cells and add tissue.

When you sleep, your body is at its muscle production peak. So by giving your body fuel right before bed, you give it the extra energy it needs to perform this process. If you give it high quality food, you’ll get better muscle building results.

What should you eat before going to bed for the most success? There are many options. You’ll want to provide your body with a combination of proteins and carbohydrates. The proteins provide your body with amino acids to literally construct muscle tissue.

And the carbohydrates provide your body with energy so that it can transport those amino acids to the right spot. You may choose a snack such as a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread. This will give you both complex carbs and protein.

You could also choose to add a protein shake to your bedtime routine that contains carbs as well. One of the best protein supplements to use at night is casein. This protein is slowly digested by the body, so it will continue to provide protein throughout the night.

Eating before bed is critical to building muscle and it’s even more effective if you make sure you get enough sleep. You need at least eight hours of sleep each night to allow your muscles to recover from a strenuous workout. And ten hours is even better.

When you combine good nutrition, vigorous exercise, and proper sleep habits you’ll have the best possible results for building muscle. It may be hard for you to let go of your habits to stop eating after a specific time, but you’ll begin to develop a new habit of having a snack before bed each night.

You must eat before bed to build muscle properly while you sleep and to get the results you really want and expect from your time at the gym.


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