Exercising creates tiny tears in your muscle fibers, but not to worry—this is a completely normal and essential part of building strength and endurance. During the repair process, your body works to rebuild those small tears, resulting in stronger, more resilient muscles (a process known as hypertrophy).
Athletes know all about hypertrophy—and they know that sleeping builds muscle. At SHEEX®, we’ve been inspired by the athletic world from the get-go—founders Michelle Marciniak and Susan Walvius developed SHEEX® bedding to mirror the moisture-wicking and cooling properties of performance gear.
It turns out that athletes can also benefit from cooling bed sheets. For muscle recovery, sleep is as vital as good nutrition and exercise. Ahead, we break down the link between muscle growth and sleeping, answering questions such as, “Why do your muscles tighten when you sleep?” and “Does sleeping help you grow?” We also explain how investing in the right performance bedding can help you get better sleep—for bigger muscle gains.
The Link Between Sleep and Muscle Growth
Sleep and muscle recovery go hand in hand. According to Shape, your body breaks down your muscles when you work out, and it regenerates them when you sleep. It’s why you need good sleep for muscle recovery. But how much sleep for muscle building do you actually need?
According to the research, getting at least seven hours of sleep is critical to muscle growth. Those who swear they can get by on five hours of sleep with no problems may not realize that getting too little sleep could be messing with their hormones.
That’s because when you get less than 7 hours of sleep, you may experience elevated levels of cortisol, aka the stress hormone. Cortisol slows down muscle growth and may tell the body to store more fat. In other words, being chronically sleep-deprived could undo the hard work you put into your athletic routine.
The bottom line: You need sleep to build muscle, but not just any sleep will do. Make sure you’re getting high-quality sleep—and enough of it each night—to ensure your body experiences the optimal conditions it needs to repair and grow muscle tissue.
During Sleep, Your Body Releases Muscle-Building Hormones
Does sleeping affect muscle growth? And if so, just how important is sleep for muscle growth? As it turns out, it’s critical. During the non-REM stage three of sleep (deep sleep), the muscle-building growth hormone (GH) is secreted.
The muscle synthesis that occurs during this stage of sleep pushes your body to release an insulin-like growth factor, which brings carbs into your muscle cells to give them the energy to create new cells and repair broken-down tissue.
So, technically speaking, do you grow when you sleep? The answer is yes!
During deep sleep, your muscles gradually relax and will be relieved of tension and pain. The lack of deep sleep may impair the secretion of growth hormone, so you may find yourself waking up feeling tense without sufficient sleep. Tight muscles may also be due to many other reasons, so consult your doctor for the best diagnosis.
Sleep Helps the Body’s Inflammatory Response Work Properly
Sleep doesn’t just help with muscle repair and growth. It’s also critical for helping your body manage inflammation.
When you exercise, the micro-tears in your muscles naturally activate your body’s inflammatory response. This is a crucial part of the repair and recovery process since inflammation helps clear away damaged cells and signals your body to start rebuilding stronger muscle fibers.
But sleep and recovery go hand in hand. Getting enough quality sleep can help control inflammation, ensuring it stays at levels that promote healing without spilling over into excessive inflammation that could slow recovery or cause additional discomfort.
By getting enough rest, you give your body the time and resources it needs to manage inflammation efficiently, reducing muscle soreness and helping your muscles recover and adapt more effectively to your workouts.
Better Sleep Leads to Improved Muscle Performance
Now that we know all about sleep recovery and muscle growth, what about sleep’s impact when we’re awake?
In addition to improving cognitive function and reaction times, sleep also enhances training because it improves muscle coordination. According to Shape, it helps you run faster and longer, lift heavier, and jump higher.
Recover after an intense gym session by getting your slumber on some athlete-inspired SHEEX® sleeping gear for cooling, restorative sleep. You don’t have to take our word for it. Our customer reviews say it all. Here’s what Melanie D. had to say:
“My brother is a retired NFL player and told us about these sheets and said they were awesome. He has the Original Performance Sheet Set on every bed in his house and said a lot of guys on his team have them and love them! We bought the same ones he has for Christmas and we love them!! They are so comfy and keep you cool.”
Get Better Sleep with SHEEX®
With moisture-wicking, cool-to-the-touch, and Ridiculously Soft® sheets from SHEEX®, you’ll experience deeper, more restful slumber to help you get those gains!
Shop our entire bedding line, including cooling sheets, mattress pads, pillows, comforters, and duvet covers to start building your recovery sanctuary.
Original Performance Sheet Set
$199.20
$249.00
Description Details Care While we move warehouses, some inventory may be limited, but SHEEX isn’t going anywhere! Be sure to sign up for back-in-stock alerts on product pages.Put an end to over-heating and other sleep-disrupting temperature fluctuations and start getting… read more
