Sleep for Lifters: Why It Matters and How to Fix Bad Sleep

Sleep is where recovery happens, and I put it near the top of the list for anyone who trains. The lab evidence points the same way: in a small crossover study of 13 healthy adults, one night of total sleep deprivation lowered the rate at which muscle made new protein after a meal by 18% and raised cortisol by 21% (Lamon et al., 2021). It was one night and a small group, so it shows the mechanism, not how much a normal bad week costs you.

Get as much sleep as you possibly can. More sleep can only benefit your fitness goals.

How much sleep is enough?

There is no single number that fits every lifter, so my answer is to get as much as you possibly can. A 2021 expert consensus statement on athlete sleep argued against a one-size-fits-all target such as 7 to 9 hours and recommended an individualized approach built around the athlete's own sleep needs, while noting that habitual short sleep, under 7 hours a night, is a risk factor (Walsh et al., 2021).

How can lifters sleep better?

Start with a regular routine, then control temperature, light, food and stress before you think about supplements.

• Get into a routine. A regular pattern is the base the other tips sit on.
• Mind the temperature. Keep the air low and crisp.
• Take a hot shower at night. The body cools itself afterward, which is good for sleep.
• Avoid lots of lights, and stay away from screens and bright lights.
• Eat enough calories and protein during the day so you don't get hunger pangs at night.
• Lower stress at the end of the day. Get into a parasympathetic state where the brain isn't actively stressing. Reading a book can help.
• Consider supplements such as magnesium, melatonin and GABA, but read the note below first.

A simple evening, built from those tips

This is one way to arrange my tips into an order. It's an example, not a prescription:

1. Eat enough earlier in the day so hunger doesn't wake you.
2. Take a hot shower.
3. Move to a cool, dim room.
4. Put screens away and read.
5. Go to bed at your usual time.

Should you take supplements for sleep?

Only after the habits above are in place. My own order is to handle the basics first and to get health advice from your doctor, someone measuring the levels in your body. See supplements for lifters.

Do melatonin and magnesium help you sleep?

The reviews found a modest effect for melatonin and only weak, low-quality evidence for magnesium. I list magnesium, melatonin and GABA as options. Here is what a few reviews found, so you can weigh them yourself.

• Melatonin. A meta-analysis of 19 trials with 1,683 people found that melatonin shortened the time to fall asleep by about 7 minutes and added about 8 minutes of sleep (Ferracioli-Oda et al., 2013). That is a modest effect.
• Magnesium. A systematic review of three small trials in 151 older adults found people fell asleep about 17 minutes sooner on magnesium, but the evidence was low quality and the authors judged it too weak to recommend magnesium for insomnia (Mah and Pitre, 2021).
• GABA. This guide does not cite evidence for GABA supplements, so it makes no claim about them.

None of this replaces the habits above. Check with your doctor before adding any of them.

Does pre-workout hurt your sleep?

It can, and if either caffeine or pre-workout is costing you sleep, drop it for training. I call that a poor trade-off.

How does bad sleep show up in training?

Poor sleep is the first sign on my list for needing a deload, along with workouts that feel like a grind and numbers that stop rising. If that describes you, read what a deload week is.

Sources

1. Lamon S et al. The effect of acute sleep deprivation on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and the hormonal environment. Physiol Rep. 2021;9(1):e14660. doi:10.14814/phy2.14660
2. Walsh NP et al. Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. Br J Sports Med. 2021;55(7):356-368. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102025
3. Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. PLoS One. 2013;8(5):e63773. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063773
4. Mah J, Pitre T. Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2021;21:125. doi:10.1186/s12906-021-03297-z