Tag: sleep
Sleep and Weight Loss: How to Improve Your Sleep Habits
Have you ever wondered why you struggle to lose weight despite your best efforts to eat healthy and exercise regularly? The answer might lie in sleep. The quality and duration of your slumber play a pivotal role in your weight loss journey. It may sound surprising, but numerous studies have highlighted the crucial role […]
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Arnold Schwarzenegger on ‘Best Approach’ for Sleep/Weight Loss: ‘People Who Sleep Less Weigh More’
Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s passion for fitness and bodybuilding rages on to this day. In his latest Daily Pump Newsletter, Schwarzenegger credited sleep for helping with weight loss efforts.
During the 1970s and 80s, Schwarzenegger led a successful bodybuilding tenure that saw him capture a total of seven Sandow trophies. He shared the stage with fellow veterans of the IFBB Pro League such as former Mr. Olympia Samir Bannout, and former three-time winners Frank Zane and Sergio Oliva.
Following a successful career, Schwarzenegger co-created the annual Arnold Sports Festival with the late Jim Lorimer. As the second-biggest bodybuilding contest on the calendar, the show has become a major attraction. Last month, Samson Dauda defeated Nick Walker to secure the 35th title.
In retirement, Schwarzenegger remains dedicated to fitness and longevity. He often shares ‘workout of the week’ segments in his newsletter as he revealed a five-minute no-equipment training routine recently, which he uses to start off his mornings.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares How to Lose 5 Lbs in Your Sleep Over Time
Schwarzenegger said Harvard scientists concluded that people who sleep less than five hours a night tend to weigh heavier than those with better sleep routines.
How to Lose 5 Pounds in Your Sleep
“Many weight loss plans insist you need to give up so much in order to achieve your goals. But what if gaining something was the real key to losing? If you believe Harvard scientists, adding more sleep might be a great way to help you improve fat loss.
According to the research — which reviewed more than 68,000 people — those who slept less than 5 hours per night weighed an average of 5 pounds more than those who slept more than 7 hours per night.
And that wasn’t the only difference. The participants were tracked over a 16-year period, and the researchers found that people sleeping five hours a night or less were 32 percent more likely to experience major weight gain (adding 33 pounds or more over the term) and were 15 percent more likely to become obese.
While it’s hard to qualify a “perfect” amount of sleep — and your body can handle some nights where you sleep less — it appears 6 hours is the minimum, and your best approach is to aim for about 7.5 and 8.5 hours of sleep per night,” Schwarzenegger shared.
Like fitness influencer Joey Swoll’s mission, Schwarzenegger is determined to spread fitness knowledge to the masses. Last month, he revealed a go-to bodyweight workout he utilized during the height of his career. During the training session, the 75-year-old stressed prioritizing intensity to garner the best results.
RELATED: Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares Surprisingly Effective One-Step Weight Loss Plan
Aside from training and nutrition, Schwarzenegger believes sleeping more can help with weight loss. He suggests getting at least 6 hours of sleep per night, and ideally 7.5 to 8.5 hours to prevent major weight gain over time.
Published: 27 April, 2023 | 1:32 AM EDT
Does Sleep Help with Muscle Growth?
Is there any direct relation with sleep and muscle growth?
So you spend hours in the gym, pushing heavy ass weight, you eat super clean, while getting in all your protein and aminos but the gains don’t seem to be coming. Could muscle growth and sleep be related to the problem?
So what are you doing wrong?
The answer could be as simple as getting enough shut eye. As when you exercise, tiny tears develop in your muscle fibers but muscle repair only occurs when the body is resting or sleeping, and if you aren’t getting an adequate amount of sleep, your body cannot repair the muscle fibers as insufficient sleep is disruptive.
So how many hours of sleep should you get?
One Chinese study concluded that ‘there was a positive association between sleep quality and muscle strength. And men with shorter sleep duration(s), of (6 hours), had poorer muscle strength than that of men who slept for 7-8 hours’ and over’.
The study goes on to say that ‘good sleep quality is associated with greater muscle strength, while shorter sleep duration may be a risk factor for decreased muscle strength.
What actually happens while you are sleeping?
Sleep dramatically impacts your entire body, and it’s during sleep that your body recovers from exercise, repairs itself and grows new muscle tissue.
During this time your muscles also relax, and this is when your muscles are relieved of pain and tension.
When you are sleeping hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone and cortisol are produced in higher doses than throughout the rest of the day.
Testosterone
Testosterone is a hormone which determines how much muscle your body can build, and sleep is vital to this.
A 2011 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that ‘cutting back on sleep, may have a dramatic effect on men’s testosterone levels’.
The ‘study shows a week of sleep loss lowered testosterone levels by up to 15%’. And, that skipping sleep is the equivalent to ageing by that of 10-16 years.
And, Eve Van Caulter, director of the study, goes on to say that, ‘low testosterone levels are associated with reduced well being and vigour, which may also occur as a consequence of sleep loss’.
The study also found that 15% of the US adult working population were getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night, and for those wanting to add on quality muscle, that is nowhere near enough sleep.
Growth Hormone
Growth Hormone is also produced while we are sleeping, and this is greatly enhanced early in the night, specifically the first few hours of sleep.
And it has been concluded that ‘in adults the most reproducible pulse of growth hormone secretion occurs shortly after the onset of sleep in association with the first phase of slow- wave sleep (also referred to as SWS), and in men approximately 70% of the GH pulses during sleep coincide with SWS.’
So the first few hours of sleep are crucial as Growth Hormone is vital to the body being able to form and sustain muscle mass.
Cortisol
Cortisol is known as being the stress hormone but it plays so many other roles, and one of those is that it helps control your sleep wake cycle.
It stimulates wakefulness in the morning, which continues throughout the day, and slowly dips as the day goes on, coming to its lowest point around midnight, where melatonin and other hormones rise up in its place to bring about sleep.
Cortisol is the hormone that assists in the breaking down of muscle protein (catabolism), and in excess this catabolic hormone can decrease muscle mass and lean body mass.
What can help stop muscle breakdown?
When you are sleeping you are essentially fasting as your body is not consuming any food during that period and this is catabolic to muscle growth.
One study recommended ‘ingesting 40g of dietary protein prior to sleep to elicit a robust stimulation of muscle protein synthesis rates throughout the night’.
Another study stated that casein protein ingested ‘before sleep increased the ‘whole body protein synthesis rates and improved net protein balance’ and this is the ‘first study to show that protein ingested immediately before sleep is effectively digested and absorbed’.
So to increase the gains chug a casein shake to ensure you don’t waste away during your sleep.
So what supplements can help you sleep?
ZMA – is a supplement made from zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. If you are zinc deficient then this supplement can boost testosterone levels, but it also helps induce sleep.
Supplements to increase anabolic potential
Glutamine- is an amino acid that prevents catabolism, promotes optimum growth hormone release and supports a strong immune system.
During sleeping periods, muscle wasting can occur due to amino acid shortage, and this can result in increased cortisol secretions and inflammation. Glutamine helps maintain a positive nitrogen balance and helps to promote repair.
BCAA’s – Branched Chain Amino Acids – have proven anabolic properties and increase testosterone and growth hormone levels.
BCAA’s can also help to blunt the rise in cortisol levels during sleep, helping to prevent catabolism and promote maximum anabolism.
So there you have it, male sure you get in a solid 8 hours and supplement accordingly to ensure all that hard work in the gym doesn’t go to waste – literally!
So until next time, keep pumping!
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7785053/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5749041/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445839/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29199194/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4755451/#:~:text=During%20NREM%20sleep%2C%20there%20is,activity%20among%20respiratory%20pump%20muscles.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8627466/#:~:text=Sleep%2Drelated%20secretion%20of%20GH,decrease%20wakefulness%20and%20increase%20SWS.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188300/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5675428/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC297368/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7830980/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4315033/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2307119/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12787547/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5188418/#:~:text=Greater%20amino%20acid%20availability%20during,synthesis%20rates%20throughout%20the%20night.
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