May 7, 2015Study: Protein Before Bed Builds Muscle
According to a study by Dutch researchers, consuming protein shortly before sleeping may help enhance muscle and strength gains that come from resistance exercise.
As reported at NutraIngredients-USA.com, the study looked at 44 young men who underwent an identical 12-week resistance training program. Half were given 27.5 grams of protein shortly before going to sleep while the other half received a placebo. Both groups showed gains, but the subjects who received the extra protein showed greater improvements.
“The protein supplementation effectively increased gains in muscle mass and strength despite the fact that participants in both the protein and the placebo groups already received a protein snack after each training session and consumed a relative high-protein diet. Consequently, it is quite remarkable that dietary protein supplementation before sleep further increased the gains in muscle mass and strength during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in these young, healthy adults.”
According to the report, the researchers said it was already know that taking protein before sleep could increase muscle growth rates, but the effect of protein on the muscle adaptive response to resistance-type training was unknown. They also said their study only looked at the effect of extra protein just before sleep and not at other times.
“In the present study, ingestion of the protein supplement before sleep was not compared with other time points of ingestion. As such, we can only speculate on the surplus benefit(s) of the protein supplement being provided before sleep as opposed to other time points throughout the day.”
An abstract of the study, which was publish ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition, is available here.
