How important is sleep when training?

[Vendetta]

How much sleep would be considered "enough" or "acceptable" for someone just trying to gain more muscle mass? Some nights I may get 4-5 hours because of school. Is this in anyway harmful to training? (Besides being tired) Thanks.

 

[mrzap]

Most people here agree food and rest are the most anabolic things you can do.

At least 7-8hrs is best. You grow at rest.

 

[Mad4Iron]

All winter I've been hitting it hard.Gym,work,a few hours on the computer and then sleep(To say I'm pacin the cage would be an understatement).

I'm doing at least 8 and sometimes 10 hours a night.I was up late for 4 or 5 days in a row and felt fucked in the gym.

You need your rest.

Mad

 

[Legion Kreinak2]

Sleep is a very important variable in your quest to gaining mass or strength. You need to recuperate. Your body repairs itself during rest. If you don't get enough, you're looking at minimal gains.

 

[he-man]

6-8 during the week and about 10 on the weekends

 

[spatts]

Sleep = recovery = growth

I'm useless on less than 8 hours.

 

[strider364]

You can get by on 6, 4-5 is rough. It's said somewhere, not sure where, that 90% of your traing is done outside the gym: eating, rest, planning your training, 10% is the actual moving of weights.

 

[satchboogie]

whenever i get the chance (usually about once a week) i sleep for 12-14 hours!

and when i awake............ its like i'm brand new!

it's like a master reset.

 

[Dirty Workout]

There was a period 2 summers ago where I went through about 3 months with flawless training and eating and zero alcohol. First time I ever did this and I expected to grow like crazy. Prob was I was commuting a long way to work and was only getting about 6 hours of sleep a night. Net result= zero growth.

Everybody needs different amounts of sleep. See how many hours you sleep without setting your alarm clock and that is what your body needs.

 

[Lord_Suston]

I need 8-10 hours to be 100% and really grow. if I get 12 though twice a week I can really feel the difference and pump out some massive weight

 

[Lee]

yea i got 10 hours of sleep friday night after a nice bicep and back workout. then i did chest and triceps and iwas gettin awesome pumps. i definately notice a difference depending on the amound of sleep i get.

 

[louden_swain]

Sleep is essential!!

 

[Legion Kreinak2]

The muscle won't be stimulated without training...
The muscle cannot be repaired without nutrition...
The muscle cannot begin repairation without rest...

It's a vicious circle. You need all the elements.

 

[Zander1983]

I need my 8 hours of sleep, minimum. I feel great after 9-10 hours. If I'm woken by an alarm, it can be out of whack with the sleep cycles and I tend to feel quite average. I love a long sleep where I wake up without an alarm and feel refreshed, alert and strong. Additionally, the more hours I get earlier in the day, the better I feel. I remember reading something about pre-12:00am sleep being of extreme importance. I think it was Ian King?

 

[argent]

It is quite essential. 8-10 hours average. If you have a schedule that allows it, unlike most, 10-12 hours would be ideal. For quite bust people you might be able to suffice with 7 hours, but you will not progress at any great rate.

 

[Vendetta]

10-12 hours of sleep? That is almost impossible for me because of school and other shit. Most of the time my body will wake me up after 8-9 hours at most on weekends. I'll go back to sleep but then wake up in another hour. I keep drifting in and out when trying to sleep for longer then 8-9 hours. Not sure what I can do to fix that. Any ideas?

 

[Nonerz]

Sleep is a very important variable in your quest to gaining mass or strength. You need to recuperate. Your body repairs itself during rest. If you don't get enough, you're looking at minimal gains.

well, that says it...I'm quite the insomniac and typically go to sleep around 1-3 in the morning and get up around 5-6:30 AM. Doesn't equate to a whole lot of REM time!

I've been recommened serotonin...

need to --->

 

[Legion Kreinak2]

well, that says it...I'm quite the insomniac and typically go to sleep around 1-3 in the morning and get up around 5-6:30 AM. Doesn't equate to a whole lot of REM time!

I've been recommened serotonin...

need to --->

Yeah, if you have everything else in place and you're not making gains (or too great of gains) then that's probably the main issue. Look into ways to fall asleep, if you're really an insomniac.

 

[gmanlax7]

ambien is extremely effective

 

[Deepsquat]

I know I should sleep more ..but I get up at 5 am ..and I refuse to go to sleep at 9 ...I try to hit the hay around 11- 11-30 ....makes for a solid 5 hours!

 

[ZGzaZ]

i'll tell you what, i got 2 hours of sleep on saturday...(old friend in town) and sunday i fell asleep at 5pm...even though i missed 2 meals that i would normally get, i did legs the next day and did more weight than usual and it felt great on 12 hours of sleep.