Sleep tips to maximize workout recovery
Everyone focuses on the weights.
“How much has my bench gone up in the last six months?
“Can I curl more than I could four weeks ago?”
These are the kinds of questions lifters ask themselves every day. But lifting is just one piece of the puzzle. Training, nutrition, and lifestyle all matter, but one factor often gets overlooked... and this is sleep.
Sleep is crucial for anyone serious about the gym. It helps your body recover, fight infections, build muscle, regulate hormones, and more. Prioritizing sleep will elevate your performance inside and outside the gym.
Let’s break it down.
Overall Sleep Basics
Getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep is a necessity for everyone, and we all know that. This isn’t just time in bed though, this means quality sleep.
When our body sleeps, we go through different stages. Your body cycles through two main types of sleep: Non-REM and REM. Each full cycle lasts about 60–90 minutes. Most people experience 4-6 of these sleep cycles per night
Non-REM sleep: these three stages of sleep are your body entering a state of relaxation and repair.
Stage 1: this stage is the lightest stage of sleep. Think of this stage as the dozing off part of sleep. Your muscles relax and your heart rate slows. This stage only lasts a few minutes.
Stage 2: This is deeper light sleep. When entering this stage, your body will disconnect from what’s going on around you and your brain activity slows. This is the most common sleep stage for adults.
Stage 3: This is know as deep sleep. Most of the recovery happens in this stage. In this stage your body releases growth hormone, repairs muscle tissue, and strengthens your immune system.
REM sleep: After the 3 stages of non-REM sleep, comes REM sleep. REM means rapid eye movement. Your brain becomes more active and dreaming happens. REM sleep helps with mental recovery. When you lack REM sleep, feeling foggy and mentally drained are the most common symptoms, even if your body is fully rested.
Why Lifters Need More Quality Sleep
Our body experiences stress every single time we step in the gym to train. This stress is necessary in order for us to grow. Without proper recovery we get broken down more and more. This is where proper sleep comes in.
As mentioned earlier, most of our recovery comes during the deep sleep stage, stage 3 of non-REM sleep. There are daytime and nighttime symptoms of NOT getting enough of the quality deep sleep we desperately need.
Daytime symptoms: Muscle soreness lingers, feeling physically drained, plateauing or dropping performance in the gym, low energy, and a weaker immune system
Nighttime symptoms: Waking up multiple times throughout the night, tossing and turning while falling asleep, not waking up refreshed, and night sweats.
Deep sleep is our heavy lifting for recovery. When missing deep sleep your body can never truly repair and if this becomes a pattern, you can see your progress in the gym decrease with your sleep quality.
Increasing Your Sleep Quality One Step At A Time
Being able to increase your sleep quality comes down to routine, diet, and lifestyle choices. Simple recommended nutrition tips for better sleep include:
Careful planning with caffeine: cutting caffeine at least 6 hours before bed can help your sleep quality. The half life of caffeine is 5 hours, which means your body eliminates half the amount of caffeine in 5 hours time. It stays in your system longer than you think
Supplementing magnesium: Supplementing magnesium can help your body relax and fall asleep faster
Avoiding heavy meals: Eating heavy meals right before sleep can disrupt digestion and even your circadian rhythm
Having a good bedtime routine to wind down each day is another key to getting quality rest. Some basic tips include:
Consistent bedtime: Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day can help your sleep quality. This can improve your circadian rhythm, reduce stress, and build a stronger immune system
Hot shower and light stretching: Utilizing either a hot shower or light stretching before bed can help your body relax
Bedroom essentials: Keeping your bedroom a cool and dark place is key for improving your quality of sleep. Blackout curtains and a fan for white noise is recommended
Avoiding blue light on screens: Blue light from screens blocks melatonin production. Changing your phone to night shift or a red light color filter can help block blue light and keep your melatonin production up
Dialing in your nutrition and routine before bed helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. Over time this can lead to better recovery and increased overall health
Sleep is Your Final Set... Don’t Skip It
At the end of the day, sleep is just like your training. If you don’t focus on it, you won’t see results. You can have the perfect workout split and great nutrition, but if your sleep sucks, your progress will too. Quality sleep is where your body grows, repairs, and improves. Focus on improving your sleep, and you'll notice better recovery, performance, and progress in the gym.
