posted Tue, 07/30/2013 - 09:01
1207
how essential is sleep to recovery
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so I know sleep is essential to recovery, but because of my job my sleep is really erratic. some days I will not sleep for 2 days and crash out really hard for over 12 hours. I guess my question is, how is essential is sleep for recovery? And does it have to be regular 9 hours sleep every single day?
sorry if there are any spelling errors or grammatical errors I'm using voice speaker on my phone.
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silver389I get my sleep so imo if I wasn't I would make sure my eating habits were immaculate...sort of compensate for the lack of sleep with all the essential nutrients and then some every day. There's no science behind it just what I would do.
Well it's pretty important but do what you need to do. I guess just try your best and get a routine down every night try requesting different work hours if you can so you can sleep better. I don't know about growth and gains, but mentally I'm a wreck without sleep. I don't know how you do it lol.
I really can't, it's in the music event industry so the events I work at are usually 2-3 days long over the weekend. It's what I love doing though, beats a 9-5 mundane job. There's so much commotion and stimuli going on that I simply wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.
When I was younger I could stay up 4 days in a row just fine, but now that I'm older 2 days is my max lol. But I crash HARD once my body finally goes to sleep. I think my record was actually 20 hours sleep after wearing myself out, no joke.
Anyway, wondering if working these weekend gigs contribute to catabolism or not. Or does the excess sleep afterward make up for it?
In every bit of research I have done, the answer is no. but then again everyone is different.. I personally could not be able to do what you do. I need my 7-8 hrs every night. If I'm getting 7-8hrs 7 days a week for wks/months on end, my sense of well being is through the roof.. Combine that with the endorphin release from gym and it's like being on cloud nine. You'd be surprised how much better you'll feel once you are getting enough CONSISTENT(going bed at the same time and getting up at the same time) sleep. Then there is the opposite end, if I go out partying on the weekend and don't sleep as much as i should, It puts the whole week out whack.
Don't think it's a black or white issue. Are you making gains on 12 hours EOD? if so than than you've got your answer. Personally I feel like crap on less than 8-9. But I've made some of my best lifts on mornings after only getting 6-7. Arnold's biography talks about seasons in life where he made huge gains on little and poor sleep early on. Military life, sleeping on peoples couches, laying bricks all day. etc..
I think stress over it actually causes cortisol to spike and kills your gains, if your attitude is more laid back though and just consume tons of protein, train hard and just determine to make those gains, they will come.
I think it is almost as important as your diet not getting enough sleep will have noticable effects on strength and recovery. It varys person to person but i seem great if i consistantly get 7 hrs a night