Why should you drink a protein shake about 30 minutes ahead of bedtime? There are several important benefits. The most obvious is that it will help you reach your protein goals for the day. But that’s just the start. A shake before sleep can impact recovery and muscle growth, and also help keep you fuller.
Why Drink A Protein Shake Near Bedtime
Sleep is essential for complete recovery. Yet it can be a catabolic event. That’s because many people do not eat near bedtime. By the time they wake up, their body has been in a catabolic, or tearing down, state for hours. While it’s true that a serving of Shake Time or All Day You May is a great way to start the day, it doesn’t help you overnight. Therefore, you can offset this by drinking a 5% Nutrition protein shake before bed.Â
Supports Recovery & Promotes Muscle Growth
One advantage of consuming a protein shake before bed is that protein helps minimize muscle soreness. It also supports the repair and rebuilding process that happens after a tough workout.Â
The body goes through cycles of Positive Protein Balance (protein synthesis) or Negative Protein Balance (muscle breakdown). Protein synthesis takes place if you have consumed more protein than the body needs to cover the basic functions. This maintains a positive protein balance. A lack of adequate protein puts you in a state of negative protein balance. This means you won’t properly recover or build any new muscle You can prevent this by drinking that protein shake within 30 minutes of bedtime.(1,2,3)
Supports Weight Loss
When trying to lose excess body fat, a protein shake before bed can help burn extra calories. That’s because your body uses energy (calories) to metabolize the protein. Also, protein helps keep you satisfied, which derails late-night cravings. Finally, by maintaining a high protein intake, you avoid losing muscle mass while restricting calories. Of course, your protein intake needs to be consistently high during the day as well.Â
What About Adding Carbs?
We see why a protein shake makes sense before bed. What about adding some carbs to the mix? If you’re on a cutting cycle, it makes sense to avoid carbs before bed. Focus on getting 50% of your carbs in the hours around your workout. Then consume the other 50% in the hours after that. On the other hand, if you train with a lot of intensity for hours at a time, and/or are an endurance athlete, then have some complex carbs with your protein shake. If you’re this kind of athlete, you’ll need to replenish glycogen. One more shake before bed can help do that.Â
Here’s The 5% Nutrition Supplements You’ll Need
With that in mind, add Real Carbs or Real Carbs Rice to your Shake Time shake. Or, go with a serving of Real Carbs + Protein. One of the advantages of the innovative 5% Protein Blend is that we use protein from multiple real food sources. Each source has a different digestion rate, from fast to medium to slow. That means you get the positive benefits of protein all night!
Recap
A Shake Time or Real Carbs + Protein shake is a delicious late evening snack. As we have seen, the benefits of having it before bed are huge. We’ve seen that it supports recovery, muscle growth, and weight loss. Plus it helps control cravings, and offsets muscle protein breakdown. With those benefits in mind, it’s time to visit 5% Nutrition and stock up!
References:
- https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2012/08000/Protein_Ingestion_before_Sleep_Improves.20.aspx
- Snijders, T., Trommelen, J., Kouw, I. W. K., Holwerda, A. M., Verdijk, L. B., & van Loon, L. J. C. (2019). The Impact of Pre-sleep Protein Ingestion on the Skeletal Muscle Adaptive Response to Exercise in Humans: An Update. Frontiers in nutrition, 6, 17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00017
- Jäger, R., Kerksick, C. M., Campbell, B. I., Cribb, P. J., Wells, S. D., Skwiat, T. M., … Antonio, J. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
