How Depriving Your Body Of Sleep Can Inhibit Your Muscle Gains

Providing your tired and strained body with enough sleep every night may seem like a trivial issue to some but in reality, giving your body proper rest each and every night is a very important step in maximizing your strength and muscle growth. A good nights sleep is critical if you want to see substantial changes in your physique in the shortest time frame possible.

So why exactly is sleep so important in facilitating muscle growth and increased levels of strength?

To answer this question properly lets first take a look at what happens to your body when you don't obtain enough sleep every night:

1. Deterioration Of Mental Alertness - One of the most profound effects sleep deprivation will have on your body has little to do with your muscles and strength and everything to do with your mental state of mind. Repeated scientific studies have demonstrated that even a single night with insufficient sleep plays havoc with your focus and mental alertness. It's difficult to give it your all at the gym if you are unable to really stay focused.

2. Decline Of Physical Performance - Your strength levels will actually decrease each and every time you rob your body of sleep. In addition, your body weight will also decline and increasing your body weight is essential to bulking up and building muscle mass.

3. Recovery Time Will Be Hindered - Contrary to popular belief, muscle tissue does not actually grow while lifting weights but rather while you are eating and sleeping. Indeed, the time you spend asleep is the primary period for your muscles to rebuild, grow, and develop.

While I generally recommend 8-10 hours of sleep following a heavy workout, exactly how many hours of sleep you should obtain is an individual factor and tends to vary from body builder to bodybuilder. If you don't feel completely energized and rested following your sleep then you are probably not sleeping enough. You should never feel drowsy or fatigued regardless of how intense your individual workouts are.

If you find that you are not able to sleep properly every night or if you simply have trouble becoming tired, then I recommend taking a sleep aid. Sleep aids can be purchased over the counter at your local pharmacy or grocery store and are fairly inexpensive. But bear in mind that most sleep aids have the potential for abuse and should only be used no more than every other day. If you take them more frequently your tolerance will build and more will be required to have the same effect.

proper sleep habits,proper sleeping,natural muscle gains,muscle mass gains