• Mattress Guides
    • Best Mattresses

    • Best Mattresses of 2023
    • For Side Sleepers
    • For Back Pain
    • Mail Order Mattress
    • Cooling Mattresses
    • Eco-Friendly Mattresses
    • Mattress Types

    • Fiberglass Free Mattresses
    • Memory Foam Mattresses
    • Hybrid Mattresses
    • Innerspring Mattresses
    • Soft Mattresses
    • Firm Mattresses
    • Mattress Reviews

    • Amerisleep Review
    • Zoma Review
    • Vaya Review
    • Avocado Review
    • Eight Sleep Review
    • Mattress Guides

    • Mattress Buying Guide
    • Mattress Sizes
    • Mattress Foundation Sizes
    • Bed Frame Sizes
  • Bedding Guides
    • Comforters & Blankets

    • Best Comforters
    • Best Down Comforters
    • Best Duvets
    • Best Blankets
    • Pillows

    • Best Pillows
    • Best Memory Foam Pillows
    • Best Pillows for Side Sleepers
    • Best Body Pillows
    • Comparisons

    • Cotton vs. Microfiber
    • Duvet vs. Comforter
    • FAQs

    • How to Wash Pillows?
    • How Often to Replace Every Type of Pillow
    • How Long Does it Take to Dry Clean a Comforter?
  • Mattress Resources
    • Mattress Comparison

    • Memory Foam vs. Pillow Top
    • Memory Foam vs. Spring
    • Memory Foam vs. Latex
    • Hybrid vs. Memory Foam
    • Gel Memory Foam vs. Latex
    • Size Comparison

    • King vs. California King
    • King vs. Queen
    • Queen vs. Full
    • Full vs. Twin
    • Twin vs. Twin XL
    • Solutions

    • Mattress Quiz
    • How to Fix a Sagging Mattress
    • How to Fix a Too Soft or Too Firm Mattress
    • How to Dispose of an Old Mattress
  • Sleep Health
    • How-To

    • How to Power Nap
    • How to Stop Snoring
    • How To Wake Up Early: 8 Benefits To Waking Up Early
    • How to Sleep on Your Back
    • Dreams

    • How to Lucid Dream: Techniques, Benefits, and Risks
    • Night Terrors vs. Nightmares
    • What is a Fever Dream?
    • Natural Sleep

    • Natural Herbs For Sleep
    • Essential Oils for Sleep
Home / Sleep Health / 4 Benefits of Having a Protein Shake Before Bed
Sleep Health

4 Benefits of Having a Protein Shake Before Bed

Medically reviewed by Brittany Ford, RHN

Brittany Ford, RHN

Brittany Ford, RHN of the Biohacking with Brittany podcast, is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who lends her expertise in fact-checking our articles. In...

Read more
by Kiera Pritchard Comment on 4 Benefits of Having a Protein Shake Before Bed

Eachnight may earn commissions for products you purchase through our links. Our articles and reviews include affiliate links and advertisements, including amerisleep advertising. Learn more

Updated January 20, 2023

Protein shakes are a popular food among athletes, bodybuilders, and active adults as the drink can help build muscle, shed weight, and improve your overall health. The drinks are also affordable, offered in countless flavors, and double as an easy snack or breakfast.

Consuming a protein shake post-workout is often thought to be the best time to maximize your muscle growth and recovery, though drinking protein before bed may provide extra benefits. Drinking an extra protein shake at night can improve strength, muscle size, speed up recovery, and promote weight loss.

Builds and Maintains Muscle Mass

Protein is vital to building and maintaining lean muscle mass. Your body goes through constant cycles of Muscle Protein Breakdown (MPB) and Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS). MPS is a biochemical process to grow, recover, and strengthen muscles, while MPB is the opposite. Exercising accelerates MPB, though protein consumption stimulates MPS and aids muscle building.

At night, when you are resting, your body goes into MPB. Based on a 2016 study, consuming a protein shake before sleeping augments MPS throughout the night and helps build muscle throughout the night.

For optimal muscle gain, your body must have a positive protein balance, though your body’s amino acids—the molecular foundation to muscle building—are constantly depleting. When your body lacks amino acids, either from poor eating or the stress placed on your body from exercise or lifestyle, your body has a negative muscle balance. This is a state where your body is slowly losing muscle tissue. However, consuming high protein foods and protein shakes brings your body back to a positive muscle balance.

However, simply drinking extra protein will not build your muscles. Protein consumption paired with a resistance-training program and adequate rest stimulates muscle growth and maintenance.

Enhanced Athletic Performance

Consuming protein aids strength and muscle growth and, in turn, improves performance when exercising. According to a 2019 study, ingesting protein before sleeping heightens strength during resistance training. Drinking a protein shake before bed also helps an individual workout for longer and build more lean muscle mass.

Heightened Muscle Recovery

Drinking a protein shake before bed minimizes soreness and repairs torn muscles from sports or resistance training. A 2012 study compared two groups of young and athletic men who worked out in the evening. One group consumed 40 grams of casein protein before sleeping while the other drank a placebo beverage. The individuals who consumed protein had increased MPS and net protein balance, improving their overnight recovery.

Aids Weight Loss

When trying to lose weight, a protein shake before bed can help burn extra calories as it increases the body’s resting metabolic rate the following day. Besides, your body uses more energy to metabolize protein compared to carbohydrates, thus burning roughly one hundred extra calories during the night.

Also, protein keeps you fuller, suppressing late-night cravings. If you’re less hungry, you won’t be tempted to eat as much, further promoting weight loss.

When paired with a healthy diet, exercise and good sleep, protein ingestion stimulates muscle growth—muscle helps to burn fat. However, to properly lose weight, you must be in an overall caloric deficit, or burning more calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. Typically, a deficit of roughly 500 calories–from a combination of eating fewer calories and by burning calories through physical activity–is best for weight loss.

Protein contains 4 calories per gram and certain protein powders contain carbs and fat as well. Generally, protein powders range between 100 to 300 calories per serving, though many people drink protein powder in smoothies so they can add ingredients such as milk, fruit, and nuts to further boost their caloric intake. While the extra calories are helpful when you’re trying to gain weight, they can be too excessive when losing weight.

Recommended Protein Intake

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans produced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 10 to 34 percent of the average adult’s total daily intake should be protein. For an individual who consumes 2000 calories, they should consume between 200 to 700 calories of protein or 50 to 170 grams of protein per day.

Protein intake varies based on factors such as your genetics, height, weight, activity level, and amount of lean muscle mass. If you’re frequently sedentary, you do not need to consume mass amounts of protein. On the other hand, an active individual or somebody trying to build muscle should consume between .7 to 1 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

FAQs

What type of protein is best?

The primary types of protein powders are whey, casein, pea, rice, and soy. Casein, soy, and whey are the only complete protein sources, containing all essential amino acids. There’s little to differentiate the benefits of casein, soy, and whey, though casein is the most researched.

“Choose a high-quality protein powder, ideally one that is fermented and vegetarian-based, as many people react to whey and lactose in traditional protein powders. When a protein powder is fermented it increases its digestibility and absorbability in the intestinal system,” says Brittany Ford, Registered Holistic Nutritionist. “Use high-quality ingredients to go with it like full-fat coconut milk, organic greens like spinach, and low-sugar fruit like berries. You can also add a scoop of protein powder to yogurt for a snack if you don’t want to drink a protein shake.”

Casein is commonly recommended because the body metabolizes it slowly, meaning it increases MPS for a longer period of time. It can also improve your energy and keep you satiated throughout the day. Whey, on the other hand, absorbs quickly, thus having a shorter MPS period.

Soy, pea, and rice are plant-based protein options if you are lactose intolerant, vegetarian, or vegan. However, soy is the only plant-based option containing all essential amino acids and it has a slow absorption rate.

Does a protein shake before bed disrupt sleep?

Consuming protein before sleeping has been shown to have no effect on sleep quality. However, if a protein shake contains a lot of sugar, it can potentially delay your sleep due to the sugar rush. To prevent this, simply drink low-sugar protein shakes.

Also, don’t drink too much at once or consume the wrong variation of protein, such as having a whey protein shake if you’re lactose intolerant. It can upset your stomach or cause bloating, making it difficult to get rest.

Is it fine to have multiple protein shakes in a day?

Yes, especially if you struggle to get enough protein in your diet from food, supplementing your protein is completely fine. It’s a quick and healthy snack, though the amount of protein you need per day will depend on factors such as your activity level, height, weight, and gender.

What happens if you have too much protein?

Although some people enjoy a high protein diet and its benefits, there is a limit to how much protein you should consume, eating no more than 2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. For instance, somebody who weighs 150 pounds should eat no more than 300 grams of protein. However, this is an incredibly high amount of protein and it would be difficult to consume in the first place.

Prolonged overconsumption of protein may lead to weight gain, kidney damage, calcium loss, heart disease, and an increased risk of cancer. Additionally, if you frequently receive your protein from sources such as red meat, saturated fats can raise your cholesterol.

If you are worried you’re overconsuming protein, speak with your doctor about any potential health risks. If you eat a high amount of protein, try consuming lower-fat or less-processed options to balance everything out.

What foods are good for muscle growth?

When trying to grow and strengthen your muscles, high protein foods are essential. It’s easiest to gain muscle when you are in a slight caloric surplus, or when you are consuming more calories than your body burns. Beyond protein powders, incorporate foods such as lean meats, fish, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, lentils, beans, and nuts into your meals to increase your daily protein intake.

Conclusion

Not only does a protein shake make for a healthy late-night snack, but its benefits are augmented when consumed in the evening. Although some people consume adequate amounts of protein during the day through food, an extra protein supplement is still beneficial, especially when paired with regular exercise.

Drinking protein in the evening extends Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) and keeps your body at a positive protein balance, aiding in muscle growth and burning extra calories.

About the author
Kiera Pritchard

Kiera Pritchard’s curiosity about dreams and dreaming sparked her passion for sleep science. In addition to writing for eachnight, Kiera is also a physical trainer and strives to help others lead healthy lives while asleep and awake. Since joining our team, Kiera has compiled multiple sleep health guides offering our readers advice on how to improve their days and evenings. 

Find more articles by Kiera

Comments

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What’s the best mattress?

Best Mattress

We’ve spent countless hours finding the best mattresses out there so you don’t have to hunt for them.

See Our Best Mattress Picks

Sleep Health

Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome
How to Identify and Treat Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome
Jasmin Lee
The Best CPAP Cleaner: A Complete Buyer’s Guide
Jasmin Lee
How to Test if You Have Sciatica
Malik Karman

EachNight Fact-Checking Standards and Processes

The EachNight writing team is devoted to creating articles that are not only entertaining and easy to understand but also as impartial, accurate, and well-sourced as possible. Whenever possible, we strive to have our articles fact-checked by our independent review board. We also do not tolerate plagiarism or ill intent from our contributors.

Here are the medical and factual guidelines that a EachNight article must adhere to:

  • We draw upon only reputable and respectable sources when researching our articles’ topics and endeavor to only link to highly authoritative sources. Such sources would include peer-reviewed medical and academic journals, medical and academic associations in good standing, and interviews with or blog posts from certified medical professionals.
  • We may link to news articles or peer-reviewed medical blog posts about studies when appropriate, but always attempt to connect directly to the studies these pages discuss.
  • Our scientific information, conclusions, and analysis are always supported by at least one reputable source.
  • We strive to make any potential conflicts of interest attached to any studies or sources clear to our readers. When applicable, we also try to include conflicting research or questions that may throw a study’s conclusion into doubt to clarify that scientific understandings often change and progress over time.
  • Our articles typically link to other articles and resources on our site. This is solely for easier navigation, and we do not promote our website as a medical resource. Try to speak with your physician if you have medical concerns.
  • Any necessary background information on a topic will be included when appropriate.
  • Our goal is for every one of our medical-related articles to be reviewed by our independent board of experts. Should they spot any medical or health-related misinformation or errors, we will strike it out from the final published article.

What’s a Certified Sleep Coach?

Our writers are sleep coaches certified by the Spencer Institute, which has been training coaches since 1992. Becoming a certified sleep coach means that our writers are well-versed in various sleep science matters, taking us beyond being just a group of mattress reviewers. The certification allows us an in-depth understanding of what we’re talking about when it comes to advising readers on better sleep habits.

About Us

Our simple goal is to provide the information you need to get better sleep each night. We provide a full-circle approach to sleep and wellness that incorporates mental, physical, and environmental well-being.

Company

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Expert Review Board

Our Guides

  • Mattress Guides
  • Mattress Reviews
  • Best Mattress
  • Mattress Quiz
  • Sleep Health
  • Sleep Calculator
  • Mattress Sizes

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to find out about content, features and more happening at eachnight.

You must enter a valid email.
Each Night Logo

Copyright © 2023 eachnight. All rights reserved.