nutritionWhat is best supplement to take before bed?
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Hi guys,
I have heard a lot of things but am unsure so was hoping for some advice. What is the best supplement to take prior to going to bed to help with continued muscle growth etc after a gym workout?
Richard
I have heard a lot of things but am unsure so was hoping for some advice. What is the best supplement to take prior to going to bed to help with continued muscle growth etc after a gym workout?
Richard
By Richard Jones – about 2 years ago
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Hey Richard,
This is a great question as I find sleep quite an interesting topic. The trick with regards to sleeping is to get yourself into a "deep" sleep for as long as possible as this is when we get a good release of growth hormone. Various studies have shown that as men get older, from say the 30's onwards, they have less "deep" sleep and therefore secrete less growth hormone.
Short sleep cycles lead to a reduction is the release of Leptin (good hormone) and an increase in the release of Cortisol (stress hormone so bad) which leads to muscle breakdown, and failure of the body to rejuvanate
So I guess to consider this question in depth, we need to look at 3 things (I will answer in 3 parts):
1. What will promote deep sleep and therefore good growth hormone release.
2. Are there any supplements (perhaps even diet and times that we eat) that just promote an anabolic state full stop whilst sleeping.
3. How can I ensure I get the best sleep possible to keep Leptin high, Cortisol low and therefore fully rejuvante for a day of work and quality fitness training?
Health and Fitness Doctor
Avoid stimulants from about mid-afternoon onwards. Things like tea, coffee, cola products, basically anything that contains caffeine. And yes, that also means pre-workout drinks and fat burners. And also alcohol.
Avoid large quantities of fluids later in the day so you don’t wake up needing to pass water in the night. This is a real issue as men get older due to prostate problems and can seriously interfere with sleep. Clearly such men should consult there doctors, and consider prostate supplements.
Plenty of fresh air in the day light hours as lack of sunlight can interfere with sleep cycle. So consider ensuring part of your training program occurs outdoors. Obviously good quality exercise will promote deep sleep, or actually maybe I should say LACK of exercise reduces quality sleep.
If you suffer from various illnesses, injuries, painful joints, all these things can affect sleep so consider seeing a doctor to discuss treatments. This also includes mental health and/or stresses in your life.
Health and Fitness Doctor
My knowledge here is limited to a few common concepts, so I'm sure Mark Gilbert will chip in here.
I guess one thing to consider here is what phase in your training are you in. For example, if you're say bulking, and you are doing this effectively - theoretically you are "anabolic" the majority of the time. So at night, what you need to ensure is that you have good sustained release of protein through the night to promote continued muscle growth.
Casein is obviously the popular protein for this with it been slowly absorbed and you can get this from supplements, or by consuming foods like cottage cheese. There are however products on the market now that are multistage protein release formulas of which I have personally tried a few of the popular brands. The problem I tend to get here is that I wake up not very hungry, so consuming breakfast can be a challenge so finding the right product is important. I personally stick to whey as I feel my breakfast is crucial to my day. You also have to consider here fluid volume, so perhaps cottage cheese for that reason is a better option.
In terms of supplements for sleep specifically, and therefore supplements that may increase growth hormone release as a secondary effect - I have actively read around the topic of Melatonin for some time. Melatonin is a hormone released by the pineal gland and is crucial in the sleep cycle.In the US and Canada you can buy it over the counter as a supplement, but in most other parts of the world its prescription only, or not available. When used safely and for short periods, I understand the research for imporving quality of sleep with Melatonin is pretty good. Again, the relevance to your question here is the indirect effect of a better release of growth hormone and therefore muscle growth.
Health and Fitness Doctor
I believe the main thing here is to give yourself "enough time" to effectively sleep. Figure out how many hours makes you wake up feeling on top of the world and aim to have that every night. Theorectically, taking all points into consideration:
1. You reduce your lifes stresses and stimulants late in the day
2. Prime your body though exercise, slow release proteins and reduced late night fluids
3. Give yourself enough time to effectively sleep
4. Reap the rewards of rejuvenation, muscle growth and improved feeling of well being
Health and Fitness Doctor
Dan has hit the main points here. Casein clots when it hits the acidic environment of the gut and is released slowly because Mother Nature designed it to be a gradual release protein.
There have been several conflicting reports as to how long casein delivers its protein (as amino acids) from the gut into the bloodstream for use by the muscles. The true figure is over 7 hours, so about as long as most people sleep. So in many ways, casein seems perfect as a pre-sleep supplement.
However, as Dan says, you may actually be better off having a "fast" whey shake before bed, not only because this will support a better appetite in the morning (which is a better time for the body to build muscle) but research shows that after a couple of hours following a large protein intake, the body shuts down the muscle-building process even though amino acid levels may still be high (which is usually a signal to the muscles to grow). So muscles have a self-limiting mechanism built in.
So whilst the casein may be "anti-catabolic" (stops muscle breakdown), it may actually be better to have a big burst of muscle-building activity for a short time after you hit the hey and then hit it again hard in the morning for another burst ( a burst that may not occur if you have used a "slow" protein overnight).
Maybe an intermediate protein like egg (as actual egg or as a drink powder) would be best, as it lasts about 4 or 5 hours, so possibly the best of both worlds?
The fact is, no one can say for sure which strategy builds more muscle as it would take a specific study design to get the answer and that study hasn't been done yet!
Remember though that Whey, followed by Egg, followed by Casein are the highest "BV" proteins available, so they result in the most protein actually being retained by the muscle.
Nutritionist and Supplement Specialist
I have used supplements for many years and as Mark and Dan have illustrated there is many benifits to taking Whey protein & Casein protein before bed.
Personally I find taking a double scoop of Whey protein with added leucine is my best combination. Leucine has about 10 times greater impact on protein synthesis than any other amino acid. Leucine has been proven to help aid muscle growth and recovery, for preservation of muscle glycogen & for growth hormone production.
This also allows me to wake up feeling hungry enough to consume breakfast.
Leucine can be brought from many supplement companies and is relatively cheap.
Fitness Model/Athlete
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Leucine needs to be consumed on it's own, roughly 15 minutes before a liquid protein meal or 10 minutes before a solid protein meal, otherwise, competitive absorbtion will prevent the leucine spike, which is thought to be the ideal way to trigger MPS.
In other words, other aminos will compete for the transport system receptors, slowing the uptake of leucine and mixing it with other aminos.
You should also be cognisant of the fact that since the majority of leucine is extracted from human hair (yes, really), it contains heavy metals and other toxins. 2 parts per million of arsenic may not seem like much, but if you consume a kilo of leucine powder, you get a free 2mg of arsenic.
A very popular UK based bulk protein supplier uses 'human' leucine and the arsenic level is listed at 2ppm so this isn't exactly a rare event.
Having said that, I do like 8g of leucine, then 10 minutes later, a large tin of mackarel fillets with sweetcorn and raw broccolli before bed.
melatonin is easily available. Just google 'melatonin + buy' and look for a quality site. I suggest the 3mg timed-release version, however research shows that consuming it around 5-7pm may still elicit great results but without the negative effect of feeling sleepy yhe next day, which sometimes happens.
Human Performance Consultant
i don't know of too many people who get diarrhea (with two "r"s) from casein but it is true that it is slightly less well tolerated than whey protein.
Also, I don't know of any studies in which addition of leucine to a protein drink or meal, significantly slows the absorption of leucine and therefore its appearance in the blood.
So you can add aminos to a protein drink although it probably would be slowed by a meal - especially a large one. Although many meats and other protein foods aren't actually absorbed that much slower than whey protein.
Also, since leucine is a free amino acid, even taking it with a highly-hydrolysed (faster) whey protein product shouldn't slow the absorption of the leucine because free amino acids are absorbed faster than protein (chains of amino acids), so a good deal of the leucine would be absorbed before the amino acids from the protein were available to be absorbed...with the exception of di- and tri-peptides, which are also absorbed very quickly like free amino acids but only make up a small proportion of commercial hydrolysed whey protein products and generally aren't found in most other sources of protein.
Nutritionist and Supplement Specialist
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