sleep, recovery, and growth

[ccapone1153]

Everyone knows that more sleep means better recovery and more growth. And they say to get at least 6 - 8 hours of sleep a night.

BUT if you are in this range does it still apply that more is better?

for example would a person who is sleeping 6 hrs get less recovery than a person who sleeps 8 hrs? and would a person who sleeps 8 hrs get less recovery than a person who sleeps 10hrs? is there a cutoff for recovery purposes?

i ask because i am changing jobs and wont be able to get a full 8hrs infact ill most likely be getting 6 and want to know if my recovery will be impaired.

[AntonG42O]

From what I read the optimal time is 7-8..

"Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D., from the University of Chicago Medical School, studied the effects of three different durations of sleep in 11 men ages 18 to 27. For the first three nights of the study, the men slept eight hours per night; for the next six nights, they slept four hours per night; for the last seven nights, they slept 12 hours per night.

Results showed that after four hours of sleep per night (the sleep deprivation period), they metabolized glucose least efficiently. Levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) were also higher during sleep deprivation periods, which has been linked to memory impairment, age-related insulin resistance, and impaired recovery in athletes. "


"The adrenal system does the majority of the recharging and recovery when you sleep. Conversely, this recharging can only take place between the hours of 11:00 PM and 3:00 AM. Male athletes must be in deep sleep before 10:30 PM, because this is the time growth hormones are released in the body.

During this time, the body also cleanses itself by using the gallbladder to dump toxins found in the digestive system and blood stream. When you are awake, the toxins tend to circulate throughout the body and back into the liver. This causes fatigue, injuries, tiredness, and further health problems."

I also found this awesomely interesting fact, "in mammals, a descending muscular atonia is seen. Such paralysis may be necessary to protect organisms from self-damage through physically acting out scenes from the often-vivid dreams that occur during this stage"

Sorry some of this is useless information Im just so fascinated with sleep I always read about it. Its such a phenomenon. Newborn babies sleep up to 18 hours a day, goes to show how important it is for development. Bottom line is that you should get all the sleep you can, even if it means sacrificing other activities. Also like it says, you need to go to sleep early to follow body's circadian clock.

[AntonG42O]

[mikemd21289]

very interesting illustration but I would think those times are not universal especially in todays day and age where we have night owls and college students like myself whose typical circadian rhythm tells them to sleep from 1am to 9am on a daily basis... would it be safe to hypothesize that sleeping from 1am to 9am would just push everything to the right by say about 3 hours?

[ccapone1153]

"The adrenal system does the majority of the recharging and recovery when you sleep. Conversely, this recharging can only take place between the hours of 11:00 PM and 3:00 AM. Male athletes must be in deep sleep before 10:30 PM, because this is the time growth hormones are released in the body.

f*ck. with the new job i wont be getting outta work till 10 then i have an hr drive home :/


thanks for the info and the illistration is pretty sweet.... i can definately relate to some of those things. im not sure about the the best time for weight training at 7pm though, i would definately not have the same amount of energy that i do when i lift early in the day..

[AntonG42O]

very interesting illustration but I would think those times are not universal especially in todays day and age where we have night owls and college students like myself whose typical circadian rhythm tells them to sleep from 1am to 9am on a daily basis... would it be safe to hypothesize that sleeping from 1am to 9am would just push everything to the right by say about 3 hours?

Well basically everyone runs on the same exact clock. We are daytime living animals so we are awake during the day and we sleep at night. Everyone's body is designed to release GH, melatonin, etc at certain times of the day. The only difference is some people are an hour or 2 ahead or behind. However if the change in your schedule is permanent, the body can over time adopt it's clock to it. The pattern has to be constant though. If for example you work night shifts for 5 days a week but then on the weekends you live like everyone else, the biological rhythms are out of synch.

"Circadian rhythms operate on a 24-hour cycle. In nonfluctuating shift work, the shift in circadian rhythm remains constant once the body adapts to it. Resynchronization may take a while, but it is possible."

The only thing in case of college students is that many times you go to bed way past 1am (lets be serious here) and after drinking. Drinking doesnt really allow a full cycle of sleep. I guess if you went to bed at 1am every single day then you would adjust accordingly, otherwise you arent getting the best sleep. I wouldnt worry about this though, believe me once college is over you'll have plenty of time to adjust back

[AntonG42O]

f*ck. with the new job i wont be getting outta work till 10 then i have an hr drive home :/


thanks for the info and the illistration is pretty sweet.... i can definately relate to some of those things. im not sure about the the best time for weight training at 7pm though, i would definately not have the same amount of energy that i do when i lift early in the day..

Oh yeah the best time to lift is in the morning I agree, the testosterone release is monstrous compared to evening. I wouldnt worry about going to bed so late man, but maybe you can pack a dinner with you to eat before you leave work? This way you can get home and go to bed around 11:30 instead of getting home and cramming food in. You should always give yourself an hour or 2 after eating to go to sleep, because the body shuts most of it's systems in order to pass out.

As long as you get 6-7 hrs a day you'll be fine brotha. There are people on this website who are talking about how they sleep 3hrs then go to work popping diet pills and roids and then lifting and more diet pills and roids lol just keeping the cycle going, and barely sleeping. You seem like you got the right idea.

[AntonG42O]

by the way its a 24 hr clock in the picture, so 17:00 = 5pm and so on. Ive actually noticed that I run exactly according to this, I always drop the Cosbys at the pool at around 8AM and then drive to work feeeling a huge pump from testosterone. Also, if you guys get tired after lunch or just around 2-3 PM this is also because of your body's natural cycles and has nothing to do with lunch itself.

[ccapone1153]

but maybe you can pack a dinner with you to eat before you leave work? This way you can get home and go to bed around 11:30

yeah that was my plan anyway i just get OCD about some of this stuff and want everything to be perfect.. which really isnt practical if u have a life haha

[RoadBlocK]

Nice chart, thanks for posting it.

[GuyverX]

You are correct.
I work graveyard shift on my main job and while the pay is great I have to work extra hard
to stay fit.
My one day off and morning shift sunday lets me get at least two days sleep at night.
Which is by far actually effective.
8 hours of daytime sleep is really not effective rest at all.
Any of you supplement companies hiring? I am willing to relocate. lolz