EXPERIMENT TIME Round 2--I need everyones input, espically if you compete!

[7_Deadly_Sins]

Ok, so I've noticed that the leaner I get, the less sleep I feel I require. I'm getting by now feeling fine /w just 7 or so hours.
Skip has said before that the lower the BF% you're, the more effective you can sleep.

"Aside from digestion there is the fact that the body functions so much better when it isn’t carrying excess bodyfat. Your natural hormone profile is in much better condition when you are leaner and your sleep will be that much more efficient, as well. I have seen it over and over with clients and with myself that the leaner you are, the less sleep that you will require. Sleep becomes more efficient the leaner you are so that the body can get done in, say, 5 hours what it normally would get done in 8 or 9 hours. I am sure that some of you reading this have experienced not needing as much sleep when you are leaner and even for those that have not, I would bet one of my kids (preferably the teenager just in case I do lose the bet I still come out on top) that most of you reading this that have been heavier at one time, noticed that you could sleep for 10 hours and still not feel completely rested. This is the same situation but in reverse: The body is not running efficiently while you sleep. Keep in mind that I am not even talking about things like sleep apnea that are known to have much higher incidence in people that are overweight. The amount of bodybuilders that are on breathing machines at night is startling to me and this is almost entirely bodyweight related (not always but in my opinion it is no odd coincidence that you don’t find skinny guys or real lean guys with sleep apnea)."

**broken link removed**


Now, the only supplement I'm taking is ZMA, I'll wake up randomly in the night to use the restroom, and I'll be wide awake, and I feel like I can start my day; yet I go back to sleep because I've always heard you NEED 8 hours of sleep..I'd love to have more time to spend with my family/fiance in the day.


I'm at about 10-11% now, and feel like I only need maybe 6-7.
I've also noticed that when I go back to sleep, and I finally get up, I'm tired, drowsey and just feel like shit, I'm also NOT hungry at all, but when I get up when my body wants me to, I'm starving like I haven't ate in days.
Back when I was alot fatter, around 13-15% I got 8-9 hours and still felt like shit...just like Skip said.

Now, can you guys answer this..pics are GREAT if you can post them.
What BF% you're, and how much sleep you felt you needed vs got..how did you feel threw out the day..how much sleep did you get/felt you needed in the off season ect.

 

[Ruhlfreak55]

interesting...moot issue for me tho....i mean ok, yea it's prolly true...but my body refuses to stay lean unless essentially on a contest prep diet, and doing that isn't gonna build the mass i need when i'm bulking, my body prefers to be fatter and when bulker goes back to that. I don't have a ginormous drug budget for gh and peptides to stave it off either.

 

[fade]

interesting...moot issue for me tho....i mean ok, yea it's prolly true...but my body refuses to stay lean unless essentially on a contest prep diet, and doing that isn't gonna build the mass i need when i'm bulking, my body prefers to be fatter and when bulker goes back to that. I don't have a ginormous drug budget for gh and peptides to stave it off either.

I would say look closer at your diet and cardio than you think...

 

[b-boy]

ha this is something i have thought about a lot and glad you posted it up! during my contest prep each yr. sleep is very minimal as i just can't sleep as much, i toss and turn all night, i thought it must be from my metabolism racing and working at a higher optimal level. I have even taken time off from all stims to see if thats what was causing me to not sleep as much, but no i still didn't sleep very many hours during the night and i can actually get away with it and feel fine, now on the opposite side i tend to get fat bastard status in the offseason and all i want to do is sleep sleep sleep, I also think that insulin levels and insulin sensitivity has a lot to do with quality of sleep also. this is a good thread bro, and i really look forward to other peoples response like mainevent, shelby, phil and others. I have really thought about this a lot, I would also like to hear peoples response to sleep when running GH during a diet and during the offseason. good thread bro!

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Sleep

Sleep is more influenced by macro ratios than body fat levels.....yes you sleep better when you are leaner but why? Why, because you are eating less carbs in all probability.

 

[fade]

Sleep is more influenced by macro ratios than body fat levels.....yes you sleep better when you are leaner but why? Why, because you are eating less carbs in all probability.

Why would carbs affect quality of sleep or amount of sleep needed for the body?

 

[Shelby]

Sleep is more influenced by macro ratios than body fat levels.....yes you sleep better when you are leaner but why? Why, because you are eating less carbs in all probability.

I agree - I think carbs play a big role. I think there are a handful of factors at play precontest:
-carbs / insulin
-"energy pills"
-body is in "survival" mode - sleep isn't a "necessity"
-etc.

This year I'm taking GABA and it's helping quite a bit. I still wake up routinely during the night (mainly just to piss because I drink a TON of fluids late at night) but I'm getting a good 7-8 hours of sleep every night, as compared to previous preps when I would normally only get 4-5 or so.
Whether or not the additional sleep is helpful is something I can't say for sure though.

 

[chris250]

I need less sleep as I get leaner and leaner...And some of what Skip say is probably true...But for me, the reason I sleep less (at the most 4-5 hours, and many times 3-4 hours a night) is one, if I double split my bodyparts the first one is at noon or 1 pm then the second bodypart is at 11 pm (at night, yes, im very awake at this time and love to train cause it is totally dead in the gym)...Also, I look forward to getting up before anyone, cause it is time to myself or time with Sarah...The kids are sleeping, I can get on the computer, Sarah gets on the treadmill, and we talk for about 20 mins or so..Until my stims kick in..Then I go for my walk (I rather walk outside, then walk on the treadmill)..Then I come home from my walk and im starving...then the real day starts by cooking my meals, getting everyone ready (the kids) for the day...But in the offseason, if (IF) my bodyfat gets higher, then yeah I rather sleep in, but then I got Gracey jumping on the bed waking me up anyway..LOL !!!

 

[Lenny]

I agree - I think carbs play a big role. I think there are a handful of factors at play precontest:
-carbs / insulin
-"energy pills"
-body is in "survival" mode - sleep isn't a "necessity"
-etc.

This year I'm taking GABA and it's helping quite a bit. I still wake up routinely during the night (mainly just to piss because I drink a TON of fluids late at night) but I'm getting a good 7-8 hours of sleep every night, as compared to previous preps when I would normally only get 4-5 or so.
Whether or not the additional sleep is helpful is something I can't say for sure though.

I agree with a lot this...my carbs were very low compared to now (sleep like a champ right now), but throughout my prep, especially the end of the prep I just did not sleep and felt very steady state. My assumption was due to the minimal carb intake and I was not having spikes throughout the day, just felt like a straight line all day long instead of peaks and valleys type of energy. Also, I just assumed my body wanted to be awake for its next meal, kinda like survival mode! So, I guess I am agreeing with most of you that macro's played the major role in my sleeping because once I put back carbs on a regular basis I felt my body was wanted to hibernate (8 hours of sleep with no problem).

 

[7_Deadly_Sins]

This thread is going great..keep it up guys.
Thanks

 

[b-boy]

Sleep is more influenced by macro ratios than body fat levels.....yes you sleep better when you are leaner but why? Why, because you are eating less carbs in all probability.

phil i wont say i sleep better but i feel like i can function on less sleep when im dieting, i sleep way less but feel like my body doesn't need as much, does that make sense??

 

[MAINEVENT]

phil i wont say i sleep better but i feel like i can function on less sleep when im dieting, i sleep way less but feel like my body doesn't need as much, does that make sense??

I think the body is just more efficient overall, thus requiring less sleep.

1: We stop carrying around all that excess poundage from fat and water from being water balloons and gluttons
2: Our bodies are assimilating food more properly
3: We're not eating shitty food.........so overall your body can function properly.

Plus what Phil and Shelby said.

 

[KillerStack]

Why would carbs affect quality of sleep or amount of sleep needed for the body?

Carbs increase insulin, insulin pushes tryptophan through the blood-brain barrier, tryptophan converts to serotonin, serotonin is converted to melatonin = tiredness.

Furthermore I'm pretty sure lower carbs also increase adrenaline and cortisol levels, both of which are stimulatory.

 

[7_Deadly_Sins]

No one else competes?

 

[aeliop]

A little different angle

When I get over a certain weight I have a tendency to breath a little harder during the day and snore when I sleep. When heavy I also can only sleep on my back. Aside from disturbing my wife's sleep with the snoring I probably wake myself up hundreds if not thousands of times throughout the night. In someways this is almost a form of sleep aepnia. When I am leaner and under a certain weight I think my breathing is lighter and I can also sleep in different positions. I certainly don't have anything to back this up but I think that that a lot of people that are under studies for or think they have sleep aepnia are just overweight.

 

[Ness]

I cant sleep past 6:30 anymore. Does not matter when I go to sleep the night before. This happened when I got lean(er). I do feel very rested but I like to take 15-30 minute naps every afternoon. Interesting thread.

 

[ridge11]

I always sleep alot less during contest prep, but I always just figured it was the stims and the fact that my mind is constantly thinking about the following days/weeks. But now that i am thinking about it i sleep a hell of alot more when I am eating higher carbs. I think carb intake has more to do with it than bf%.

 

[ridge11]

I would also like to hear peoples response to sleep when running GH during a diet and during the offseason. good thread bro!

Bump.

 

[SABAGOY]

I cant sleep past 6:30 anymore. Does not matter when I go to sleep the night before. This happened when I got lean(er). I do feel very rested but I like to take 15-30 minute naps every afternoon. Interesting thread.

I am the exact same way...and it sucks when I have the opportunity to sleep in but dont take advantage...I recently started sleeping with ear plugs in and it helps a little...because usually the slightest sound will wake me up if i am close to my normal rising time.

Lately I have found myself getting up earlier and earlier..and this has been POST CONTEST...but also with tons of energy...i am getting around 6-7 hours of sleep on average the past 3-4 weeks.

 

[Shortstack55]

During my contest prep, besides getting up to piss so much, i sleep great. i also sleep less hours and feel less tired throughout the day. Now that my bf has gone back up i sleep about an hour more and feel as though i could sleep for another two hours.

I have to agree with aeliop, my breathing is much heavier in the offseason. I can wake myself up because of my snoring at times. I also wake up much more during the night to change positions because my hands go numb when laying on my side or stomach, but then my girl wakes me up because i'm sorning when laying on my back.