💤 Why Sleep Is Just as Important as Your Training for Muscle Growth

Let’s be honest — most of us will prioritise workouts, protein shakes, meal prep, supplements… but sleep? It’s usually the first thing we cut when life gets busy.

But here’s the truth: if you’re not sleeping properly, you’re holding yourself back from real results.

I know it might feel like sleep is passive, but when it comes to muscle growth, your body is working overtime while you rest — repairing, rebuilding, and growing the muscles you've just trained.

Here’s what actually happens when you sleep:

🧠 Hormones That Help You Grow (Literally)

When you get into deep sleep — especially during non-REM (slow wave) sleep — your body releases growth hormone.This is one of the most important hormones for recovery and muscle development. It helps your muscles repair the tiny micro-tears you create in the gym and build them back stronger.

👉 The majority of this hormone is released during sleep, not during your workout.So if you're not sleeping well, you're missing the best part of the recovery process.

😴 Sleep Deprivation = Muscle Breakdown

A study in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that sleep-deprived individuals had lower muscle protein synthesis, which is just a fancy way of saying they weren’t building muscle as efficiently.

Another study showed that lack of sleep increases cortisol, your stress hormone, which can promote fat storage and muscle breakdown.

So if you’ve been training hard but feel soft, flat, or inflamed — lack of sleep could be a major factor.

🥱 Less Sleep = Lower Performance

Sleep isn’t just about recovery — it affects your energy, focus, coordination, and even motivation to train.

Poor sleep has been linked to:

• Reduced strength and endurance

• Slower reaction times

• Decreased motivation to work out

• Increased risk of injury

So if you're not hitting PBs, struggling to feel that mind-muscle connection, or skipping the gym altogether, check in with your sleep habits.

🛌 So How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?

For muscle growth and recovery, aim for 7–9 hours per night — consistently.It’s not just about quantity either — quality matters. Deep, uninterrupted sleep is where the magic happens.

🧘‍♀️ Tips for Better Sleep Gains

• Stick to a sleep schedule — even on weekends

• Cut caffeine after 2pm (yep, even if you're tired)

• Keep your room cool and dark

• No screens 30 mins before bed (blue light blocks melatonin)

• Try magnesium, a warm shower, or journaling if your brain won’t switch off

Final Thoughts

You can train like an athlete and eat like a pro, but without good sleep, you're not giving your body the tools to grow. Muscle isn’t built in the gym — it’s built during recovery, and sleep is the most underrated part of the process.

So if you want to see better results from your training — start by committing to better sleep.

It’s free, it’s powerful, and it could be the one thing you’re missing.