HOW SLEEP AFFECT OUR GAINS AND HOW WE CAN FIX IT [SCIENCE EXPLAINED]

Sleep is an extremely complicated process that consists of more than simply closing one’s eyelids and counting sheep.

It is an active state of unconsciousness produced by the body where the brain is in a relative state of rest and is reactive primarily to internal stimulus.

If there is one aspect of building muscle and loosing fat that’s most underrated is definitely sleep.

According to National Sleep Foundation almost 70% of the world population is not getting sufficient sleep.

how sleep affect gains?.....how important is sleep?......how much sleep we need?

Stay connected till the end of this article, all your questions will be answered.

WHAT IS SLEEP?

Sleep is a naturally recurring state of mind and body, characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles during rapid eye movement sleep.

WHY DO WE NEED SLEEP ?

The exact purpose of sleep has not been fully elucidated. Several prominent theories have explored the brain and attempt to identify a purpose for why we sleep.

The main function of sleep is to reduce a person’s energy demand during part of the day and night when it is least efficient to hunt for food. This theory is supported by the fact that the body has decreased metabolism by up to 10% during sleep.

Sleep allows for the body to repair and replete cellular components necessary for biological functions. This is backed by the findings many functions in the body such as muscle repair, tissue growth, protein synthesis, and release of many of the important hormones for growth occur primarily during sleep.

Sleep is necessary for neural reorganization and growth of the brain’s structure and function. It is clear that sleep plays a role in the development of the brain in infants and children. That’s why infants must sleep upwards of 14 hours of sleep per day.

Sleep is a natural process our body need it in order to rest and recover. Sleep is necessary for brain functions and its development also. Many biological processes are going on during sleep.

HOW SLEEP AFFECT OUR GAINS?

Sleep restriction has been shown to have several detrimental health effects. Sleep loss can modify energy intake and expenditure.

This study compared the effect of sleep duration on fat and lean mass loss in overweight subjects during two weeks on a reduced-calorie diet .

This study performed at University clinical research center and sleep laboratory. chances of error are negligible.

• Group 1 spent 5.5 hours in bed
• Group 2 spend 8.5 hours in bed.

Subjects stayed at the laboratory during the whole study period and all food was provided.

RESULT:-

• It was found that Group 1 lost 55% less fat mass and lost 60% more lean body mass.
• Whereas, Group 2 lost 55% more fat mass and preserved 60% more muscle mass. Interestingly, the 5.5 h group had higher concentrations of activated ghrelin(hunger hormone).

The effect of sleep restriction on body composition goals may be even worse under such conditions. Insufficient sleep can hamper fat loss and increase lean mass loss while dieting.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO WE ACTUALLY NEED?

How much sleep you need is depends on various factors like age, activity levels, stress levels etc. But there is a range given by the National Sleep Foundation which you can adjust according to your lifestyle.

The sleep range given by the National Sleep Foundation is around 7-9 hours. More active individuals should target to sleep higher end of this range.

For getting the most out of sleep we should mainly focused on two things:) sleep duration and most importantly sleep quality.

1. SLEEP DURATION

Sleep duration defined as the amount of time spend sleeping during the night.

It is recommended to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep for factors such as alertness, productivity and health (National Sleep Foundation). However, the difference between 7 or 9 hours of sleep is still pretty big.

This study investigated cognitive performance for different lengths of sleep.

• 3 hours in bed
• 5 hours in bed
• 7 hours in bed
• 9 hours time in bed.

Participants completed cognitive performance tests every day.

It was found that 3 hours in bed (2.87 h of sleep) resulted in the lowest cognitive performance.

This was followed by 5 hours in bed (4.66 h sleep) and then the 7 hours treatment (6.28 h sleep).

The 9 hours in bed (7.93 h of sleep) showed no decline in cognitive performance.

In the 3 hours in bed treatment cognitive performance continued to decline daily. In contrast, cognitive performance appeared to stabilize in the 5 and 7 h treatments at a reduced capacity.

Sleep restriction results in lower cognitive performance, with even 7 hours in bed being sub-optimal compared to 9 hours in bed .

2. SLEEP QUALITY

Sleep quality refers to how restful your sleep is — how well it rejuvenates your mind and body.

For you to feel rested in the morning, your sleep must have sufficient duration and quality. Like insufficient sleep duration, poor sleep quality can responsible for health issues.

To feel and perform your best, you don’t just need enough sleep, you need enough quality sleep to sleep well and wake up refreshed.

Amazing article by examine.com on how sleep quality can be improved. please checkout:-https://examine.com/nutrition/ten-tips-for-better-sleep/

WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT HEALTH BENEFITS OF GOOD SLEEP?

HOW IMPORTANT IS SLEEP?

Sleep is incredibly important, and can be considered crucial alongside diet and exercise.

Proper sleep habits help sustain many biological processes, and bad sleep can cause these processes to be sub-optimal or even malfunction.

1. SLEEP OPTIMIZES ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE AND RECOVERY

Sleep time affects performance of endurance athletes on sleep restriction of a given exercise intensity. Endurance athletes should sleep >8 h per night to optimize performance.

2. SLEEP’S ROLE IN MEMORY

Over more than a century of research has established the fact that sleep benefits the retention of memory.

Whereas initial theories posed a passive role for sleep enhancing memories by protecting them from interfering stimuli, current theories highlight an active role for sleep in which memories undergo a process of system consolidation during sleep.

Sleep as a brain state optimizing memory consolidation, in opposition to the waking brain being optimized for encoding of memories. 

3. COGNITIVE OUTPUT (increased mental capability)

Restriction of sleep produces a neural sleep wave pattern that is sometimes observed in depression and well-being appears to be related to sleep as well. A reduction in sleep reduces higher levels of cognition such as problem solving.

Impaired sleep is associated with impaired cognitive function.

4. CORTISOL

Cortisol is a stress hormone.

Cortisol is a hormone that mediates the stress response and sleep-wake cycle, being high in the morning and low in the evening.  Cortisol mediates the process of waking up, and shows a predictable circadian rhythm of being high in the morning while lower at night prior to sleep.

High cortisol can cause insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, reduced immune function, and other negative effects.

Numerous studies have noted increases seen with sleep deprivation in a single night can increase cortisol levels 51%. Increase in cortisol levels have negative impact on health.

5. TESTOSTERONE

A single night without sleep is enough to decrease androgen production, and moderate daily sleep deprivation reliably reduces Testosterone levels by some 10–30%.

6. GROWTH HORMONE

Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that regulates growth in youth, and in adults is thought to promote fat loss and longevity. Increasing growth hormone should improve these goals.

A major pulse of growth hormone occurs shortly after falling asleep.

Sleep mediates the largest daily spike of growth hormone, which in young persons accounts for approximately half of daily exposure. Studies using sleep deprived persons that note a decline in growth hormone (due to lack of sleep).

TAKEAWAYS

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