Does the amount of sleep you get even matter?

[tmuscle]

I see guys who have busy lives sleep 4-6 hours a day, and still make incredible gains.

For example, Cedric McMillan, he trains pretty late at night sometimes and has to wake up early in the morning for work/army tasks. I'm guessing he probably gets anywhere from 4-5 hours a day regularly.

Another example is the guys who run tren often. They sleep for 4 hours sometimes and can't go back to sleep so they just stay awake a lot of the time, yet they still make incredible and consistent gains.

Another example is the guys who get sleep apnea. They don't get quality sleep yet they are still walking around, big and jacked as hell.


Does sleep quantity or quality even matter in bodybuilding? Furthermore, does it even matter if you are well rested as a bodybuilder? So what's the point of being a "full-time bodybuilder" if you would make 99% of your gains if you instead led a normal-ish life with a full time job instead of being a hermit?


I mean, Ronnie Coleman was a full time cop while also being a father of several young children and on top of that, prepping for the Mr Olympia contest and coming in and destroying everyone

 

[nothuman]

Every study and piece of scientific data will indicate it is important, however it is hard not to think of the examples you provided and wonder how important it truly is.

Personally, any less than 8 hours of sleep and I have trouble functioning. However, does that really tell me anything about gains? Not really, it just means I am tired.

 

[Kaladryn]

Most people who don't sleep much have catch up days where they sleep a lot. Also, damage from not sleeping enough may take years or decades to show up and might not be reversible. Most bodybuilders SWEAR by sleeping a lot to maximize gains.

 

[tmuscle]

There is a bodybuilding saying "REST to GROW"

But then most guys who have busy lives don't get to rest much at all, 4-6 hours a day in sleep which even sometimes is disturbed by sleep apnea issues yet they walk around huge and jacked as hell.

So I was driving today and I had a bit of an epiphany.

I know "resting" in the term of overtraining prevention and providing your muscle enough time to recover in between training sessions is crucial, but I'm starting to wonder if sleep is even all that important as long as you can function well enough.

 

[tmuscle]

Every study and piece of scientific data will indicate it is important, however it is hard not to think of the examples you provided and wonder how important it truly is.

Personally, any less than 8 hours of sleep and I have trouble functioning. However, does that really tell me anything about gains? Not really, it just means I am tired.

Exactly. But even if we are tired we can still kill it in the gym. Sure we won't always break PR's, I notice that if I don't sleep all that great my upper body lifts tend to suffer in the high end but really not that much. Sometimes I will go into the gym after only sleeping 4 hours the previous night and hit a bench or deadlift PR.

And on top of that, some huge ripped mofos are walking around with sleep apnea issues and low sleep quantity and they seem to be progressing just fine in their bodybuilding endeavors.

 

[stb1041]

I've heard Jay Cutler say that he only sleeps 5 hours a night. (this was several years ago) and also Arnold is famous for only sleeping 6 hours a night and telling anyone who sleeps more then 6 hours that they need to "sleep faster"

Obviously it's different for each individual but your body adapts over time and I think you can feel 100% on 5-6 hours of sleep after a while.

 

[raw33man]

once a local bber told me the whole point of sleeping was to realse GH... now what if you are on GH ? do you need to sleep a lot when on GH ?

 

[dalvare1]

it varies from person to person, different people complete REM cycles in different amounts of time. some people get through the cycles in 5-6 hours, others 7,8,9

 

[tmuscle]

Most people who don't sleep much have catch up days where they sleep a lot. Also, damage from not sleeping enough may take years or decades to show up and might not be reversible. Most bodybuilders SWEAR by sleeping a lot to maximize gains.

What kind of damage are we talking about?

 

[Simpllyhuge]

People who work night shifts don't live as long according to Statistics.
I have needed more sleep
Than others even when I was a child. If on a regular sleep Schedule because I had no choice, it was almost impossible for me to Wake up and I end up catching up for a full day after a while.

 

[kingpeon]

I think it plays right along with the 'eating when hungry' KISS approach. Everyone's a bit different in what they need to grow.

If you're hungry, eat. If you're tired, sleep. Calorie intake will fluctuate depending on many factors and so will the amount of sleep needed every night.

I make gains faster when I get 8 hours a night with a 1-2 hour nap during the day. Plus getting plenty of sleep is much easier on the constitution.

 

[jm425]

To me, sleeping more doesn't neccesarily equate to bigger gains. What more sleep to me means is that I feel better/healthier and and I recovery faster from workouts. I'm one of those people that need 8 hours of sleep to function properly but can sleep up to 10 hours.

 

[Kaladryn]

What kind of damage are we talking about?

Hormonal imbalances, probably adrenal insufficiency being the most detrimental. Secondary effects from blood pressure elevations related to stress. Too much cortisol from stress, then after enough time, too little cortisol from adrenal fatigue.

 

[Kaladryn]

To me, sleeping more doesn't neccesarily equate to bigger gains. What more sleep to me means is that I feel better/healthier and and I recovery faster from workouts. I'm one of those people that need 8 hours of sleep to function properly but can sleep up to 10 hours.

But better recovery directly effect gains over the long run wouldn't you agree?

 

[Kaladryn]

I think it plays right along with the 'eating when hungry' KISS approach. Everyone's a bit different in what they need to grow.

If you're hungry, eat. If you're tired, sleep. Calorie intake will fluctuate depending on many factors and so will the amount of sleep needed every night.

I make gains faster when I get 8 hours a night with a 1-2 hour nap during the day. Plus getting plenty of sleep is much easier on the constitution.

Eat when hungry is fine, unless you a releasing cortisol that is suppressing you appetite.

 

[jm425]

But better recovery directly effect gains over the long run wouldn't you agree?

By your logic you are correct.

 

[ajdos]

As with human beings, diversity is the norm, 4-6 may be enough for someones cns and musculature to recover- while others need 8-10.
For me the magic number is 7.

 

[mjacked]

To me, sleeping more doesn't neccesarily equate to bigger gains. What more sleep to me means is that I feel better/healthier and and I recovery faster from workouts. I'm one of those people that need 8 hours of sleep to function properly but can sleep up to 10 hours.

:yeahthat: well said

 

[A50#]

I've heard Jay Cutler say that he only sleeps 5 hours a night. (this was several years ago) and also Arnold is famous for only sleeping 6 hours a night and telling anyone who sleeps more then 6 hours that they need to "sleep faster"

Obviously it's different for each individual but your body adapts over time and I think you can feel 100% on 5-6 hours of sleep after a while.

I think sleep is important for many reasons but with that being said when I was younger I slept way to much. I would wake up feeling sluggish and like crap all day. As I have got older I have found 6-7 hours is prefect for me. I feel good and function well.

 

[jm425]

I've heard Jay Cutler say that he only sleeps 5 hours a night. (this was several years ago) and also Arnold is famous for only sleeping 6 hours a night and telling anyone who sleeps more then 6 hours that they need to "sleep faster"

Obviously it's different for each individual but your body adapts over time and I think you can feel 100% on 5-6 hours of sleep after a while.

I disagree. Your body will never adapt to 5-6 hours of sleep if you need 8 hours to function properly. Keep depriving yourself of sleep it will only lead to bad health and eventual hospitalization from all the negative things Kal has previously mentioned. Google adrenal fatigue which is caused by continuous lack of sleep.