If I don’t get 4-8 hours of sleep how much is it hurting my gains?

[1ambassador]

Sometimes my body just does not allow me to stay asleep for more than that. For example I had a great workout last night and hit all my macros but I literally got maybe 2 hours of sleep tonight and it frustrates me because it feels like my body isn’t fully recovering by not being in deep sleep long enough

 

[bibletoyscom]

@1ambassador Shit man 2 hours?? Even 4 to 5 is pushing it really. I don't know what you're going through but please take care of your health first

 

[spaceigniter]

@1ambassador Yup you need that sleep for the body to build back stronger. 7 to 8hrs is best and getting to bed by 9 or 10pm is ideal. Has something to do with circadian rhythm. 2 to 3 of your sleep hrs taking place before midnight has a HUGE effect on the quality of your sleep.

 

[1ambassador]

@spaceigniter Fuck figures I work a full time job past midnight.

 

[spaceigniter]

@1ambassador Me too bud. 2 FT jobs. My day schedule is packed, with me getting workouts in on lunch breaks and right after work. I generally get 6hrs sleep per night and then full 8+ pre-midnight quality sleep on my days off.

 

[rcorfield]

@1ambassador

 

[ufekevom]

@1ambassador A huge area lack of sleep will hit you is on your natural test levels. Over time lack of sleep or lack of quality sleep will be hugely detrimental in this area.

 

[1ambassador]

@ufekevom Is 6 hours enough for optimal test levels?

 

[friendoffrancis]

@1ambassador I sleep 4.5-5.5 hours a night on weeknights. Im 39 and I just got my testosterone results done last week and it had me at 650ng/dl. It went up 100ng/dl from 2 years ago when I tested. I dont do anything to optimize other than lifting 6 days a week and eating healthy.

 

[ufekevom]

@1ambassador It really depends on the quality of sleep you're getting.

If it's 6 hours but restless and light sleep then no, that's not great.

If it's 6 hours but good quality sleep then possibly. I use a Garmin watch to track my sleep quality. It might be worth you looking in to that.

What I will say is though that I optimised my lifestyle really well, the only thing I've always struggled with is sleep and I'm now on TRT. I'm not attributing it directly to that but it definitely played a part.

 

[1ambassador]

@ufekevom Ya I’ll usually get 4-5 a night and I take a nap daily for about 2-3 hours, not sure if the nap would count towards daily sleep

 

[livingstone2014]

@1ambassador If I got constantly less than 4 hours of sleep per night, I wouldn't bother going to the gym.

 

[amo2]

@1ambassador Lack of adequate sleep will definitely negatively affect your progress

 

[1ambassador]

@amo2 How many hours would you say is adequate?

 

[amo2]

@1ambassador 6-7 bare minimum (though 6 is really pushing it), 8-9 is ideal.

 

[johnlxyz]

@1ambassador You will find many, many anecdotes of people who went through periods of fairly regular poor sleep and found that it did not affect their gains.

No one really knows and there's probably a lot of variation. But "you only build muscle when you sleep" is obviously false.

 

[loida]

@1ambassador As someone who's had chronic insomnia, sleep issues has never interfered with my muscle growth. It really doesn't matter if you're not close to approaching your genetic limits

 

[1ambassador]

@loida How much sleep do you get per night if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[loida]

@1ambassador I would say most nights I get 6 hours, but it's not continuous sleep. I wake up constantly throughout the night maybe every hour or two

 

[galworth]

@loida I'm the exact same. Still putting on muscle. Years of horrible sleep.