The most important factors to building muscle is Eat, Sleep and Train.
Most people focus so hard on maximizing the effectiveness of their training and nutrition which is good, these are very important aspects of bodybuilding.
However getting the best, most effective sleep possible is often overlooked.
Quality of sleep is actually just as important, if not more than the number of hours slept.
Pretty much all of us have experienced feeling tired and extra sore from sleeping too long, as well as after a night of heavy drinking ;)
This is because of bad quality sleep.
Most people focus so hard on maximizing the effectiveness of their training and nutrition which is good, these are very important aspects of bodybuilding.
However getting the best, most effective sleep possible is often overlooked.
Quality of sleep is actually just as important, if not more than the number of hours slept.
Pretty much all of us have experienced feeling tired and extra sore from sleeping too long, as well as after a night of heavy drinking ;)
This is because of bad quality sleep.
How do i improve the quality of my sleep?
Of course there are many ways to get better sleep to recover better, pick and choose some of them and try them out for yourself! Or not, up to you :)
1. Sleep in a completely blacked out room. This induces melatonin production that will send you into a very deep sleep.[1] This means completely blocking any light from entering the room be it from the window, a crack in the door or a TV on standby. This is harder than you might imagine but well worth it in the long run. The first few times you do this you may sleep for a long time. This is ok: your body is just catching up. The time will reduce and you should start feeling a lot better when waking up, and fall to sleep easier at night. This has a number of health benefits including increased recovery and even the prevention of cancer.[2] An eye mask can also help with this.
Buy from amazon! Of course there are many ways to get better sleep to recover better, pick and choose some of them and try them out for yourself! Or not, up to you :)
1. Sleep in a completely blacked out room. This induces melatonin production that will send you into a very deep sleep.[1] This means completely blocking any light from entering the room be it from the window, a crack in the door or a TV on standby. This is harder than you might imagine but well worth it in the long run. The first few times you do this you may sleep for a long time. This is ok: your body is just catching up. The time will reduce and you should start feeling a lot better when waking up, and fall to sleep easier at night. This has a number of health benefits including increased recovery and even the prevention of cancer.[2] An eye mask can also help with this.
2. Wear ear plugs. Sounds during the night can pull us out of deep sleep even if we do not wake up. I am naturally a very light sleeper due to my sensitive hearing ;) and so this is a godsend for me.
3. Wake up whilst in a light sleep. This allows us to wake with lots of energy and not feel groggy. We sleep in cycles that span for 1hr 30 mins, with gradually increasing depth of sleep and REM sleep generally for the last 15-30 minutes. Without getting too far into the science you want to time your sleep so that you get up in the beginning of a cycle while you are in light sleep. This involves setting your alarm for a time in a multiple of 90 minutes ahead plus the time it generally takes you to fall asleep. For instance 6hrs, 7hrs 30 mins or 9 hrs (+ 30 mins) to fall asleep. This takes some practice and trial and error to perfect but it makes a big difference if you get it right.
4. Sleep for a shorter length of time. I have found that if i sleep for only 5 hours at night i wake up with much more energy than if i had slept for 8 hours or even 10 hours in one go. The reason for this is likely due to the hormonal effect, length of time without food, or even the fact of physically laying in one position for so long its harder to get up.
However, i find that if i only have 5 hours sleep for consecutive nights i start to lack sleep and get too tired.
Therefore i now sleep for two 5 hour stints. I got this idea from a natural bodybuilders’ training and diet plan Aaron Curtis:
http://www.simplyshredded.com/sstv-aaron-curtis.html
By sleeping just 5 hours a night i wake up early and do various work that i need to get done, write articles, go to the gym and have a large meal before going back to bed at 9.30am until 2.30pm.
I have found that i have much more energy doing this and i am also twice as productive and recover faster from my workouts.
Gym can easily take up a lot of the day and so by doing this i have already got so much done and by 2.30pm i am refreshed and free to do whatever i want for the rest of the day. I can also fit an extra meal in the morning which is massively beneficial for building muscle.
However, you definitely need to black out your room to be able to do this. I find it hard to sleep in the day if my room is not blacked out.
4. Sleep for a shorter length of time. I have found that if i sleep for only 5 hours at night i wake up with much more energy than if i had slept for 8 hours or even 10 hours in one go. The reason for this is likely due to the hormonal effect, length of time without food, or even the fact of physically laying in one position for so long its harder to get up.
However, i find that if i only have 5 hours sleep for consecutive nights i start to lack sleep and get too tired.
Therefore i now sleep for two 5 hour stints. I got this idea from a natural bodybuilders’ training and diet plan Aaron Curtis:
http://www.simplyshredded.com/sstv-aaron-curtis.html
By sleeping just 5 hours a night i wake up early and do various work that i need to get done, write articles, go to the gym and have a large meal before going back to bed at 9.30am until 2.30pm.
I have found that i have much more energy doing this and i am also twice as productive and recover faster from my workouts.
Gym can easily take up a lot of the day and so by doing this i have already got so much done and by 2.30pm i am refreshed and free to do whatever i want for the rest of the day. I can also fit an extra meal in the morning which is massively beneficial for building muscle.
However, you definitely need to black out your room to be able to do this. I find it hard to sleep in the day if my room is not blacked out.
5. Eat carbs before bed. Many people regard having carbs before bed as breaking one of the cardinal rules of weight loss (which i do not believe). However, eating carbohydrates stimulates the production of serotonin in the brain, which then converts into melatonin (the hormone that makes you fall asleep, and sleep deeply).[4] Serotonin is produced from tryptophan, an amino acid found in many foods. Bananas have a large amount of tryptophan and carbohydrates, therefore are great to have before bed to help you snooze off.
Carbohydrates also have the effect of reducing cortisol which will also help you sleep.
Carbohydrates also have the effect of reducing cortisol which will also help you sleep.
6. Reduce caffeine intake. Caffeine stays in the body for a surprisingly long time after consumption (half-life is generally 8 hours). Even low levels of Caffeine in the system can reduce sleep effectiveness.
Click on image above to buy from amazon! 7. Ground yourself. Grounding is big in health at the moment. There are many benefits but the most prominent is better sleep. In basic terms it involves coming into contact with the earth which reduces the static that you buildup in your body. I have a grounding mat that i got for £30 that i use while i’m meditating before bed ;) you can ground yourself for free by simply going bare feet on the grass outside though. More information: http://www.groundology.com/about-grounding
8. Meditate. This is involves taking a period of time where you completely turn off your thoughts and focus on being in the present moment. There are so many benefits to this it is unreal and you would be surprised at how many successful people actually do this on a regular basis (e.g Clint Eastwood, Paul McCartney, Russell Brand). Read ‘The Power of Now by Eckharte Tolle if you plan to get into it. In terms of sleep however, it reduces the cortisol in your body and clears your mind to prevent thoughts that might keep you up. Good shit. I will cover this more in the future.
9. Exercise! This increases serotonin and dopamine in your brain as well as simply knackering you out ;)
I do all of this but a few changes here and there make a big difference.
And thats what i do!
Much love
Charlie
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
http://drbenkim.com/articles-sleep-darkness-prevent-cancer.htm
http://www.simplyshredded.com/sstv-aaron-curtis.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8697046
9. Exercise! This increases serotonin and dopamine in your brain as well as simply knackering you out ;)
I do all of this but a few changes here and there make a big difference.
And thats what i do!
Much love
Charlie
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melatonin
http://drbenkim.com/articles-sleep-darkness-prevent-cancer.htm
http://www.simplyshredded.com/sstv-aaron-curtis.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8697046