When studying and thinking about taking protein before bed, the idea is always the same: the goal of taking these proteins is to improve muscle recovery and regeneration during sleep, which is a prerequisite for progress and reducing the risk of injury.
Do we need protein before bed?
Simply put, protein intake stimulates muscle protein synthesis, a process that triggers muscle adaptation and growth. Studies have confirmed that consuming 40 g of protein before bedtime stimulates muscle protein synthesis overnight. However, is this relatively large amount really needed?
A study conducted by Trommelen et al. investigated the effect of two different bedtime protein drinks on muscle protein synthesis rates overnight. All subjects did strength training in the afternoon and immediately after that consumed 20 g of protein. Just before bed, we got divided into groups:
30 g casein protein,
30 g of casein protein with 2 g of additional leucine, or
non-caloric placebo drink
Although the casein protein is efficiently digested and absorbed overnight, it did not result in protein muscle synthesis overnight compared to placebo. Even the addition of 2 g of leucine to casein did not result in protein synthesis overnight.
This is in line with previous theses giving 20-30 g of optimal protein dose to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. However, the overnight period in which muscle protein synthesis was measured was much longer (i.e., 7.5 h) than pr
How much protein do we need?
A study conducted by Abbott et al. studied how the intake of 40 g of protein casein before bedtime affects the recovery of athletes who had a competition the night before (in addition to doing research on football players).
According to the results of the study, the subjects who ingested 40 g of protein casein after sleep after 36 hours had a dose of complete recovery.
In the case of subjects who received placebo, the results did not return to the desired (recovered) even after 60 hours.
Additionally, it was confirmed that the intake of 40 g of casein protein before bedtime contributed to the reduction of muscle fatigue, while smaller amounts of 20-30 grams, even with the addition of leucine, did not stimulate the synthesis of muscle proteins.
Therefore, if you want optimization results, use muscle recovery and regeneration and reduce the risk of the following, consume 40 g of quality casein protein before bed.
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