Muscle Growth With Sleep Apnea

Been hitting the gym hard lately and still waiting for the results you’ve worked hard to get? It can be a frustrating process and requires patience and discipline. One of the reasons you might not be reaching your fitness goals has to do with sleep. And for those struggling with sleep apnea, getting the necessary amount of sleep can be particularly challenging. Muscle growth with sleep apnea can be a slow uphill battle.

How Does Sleep Affect Muscle Growth?

Gaining muscle comes from a combination of breaking down the muscle by fatiguing them, proper nutrition, and recovery. Without anyone of these factors, muscle growth will lag or not develop at all. 

Sleep is especially important because the body releases human growth hormone (HGH) while asleep. Over the course of a good night’s sleep (8 hours), the body has time to recover and rebuild that fatigued muscle tissue and grow. This recovery period is stunted by conditions like sleep apnea which wake sleepers up consistently throughout the night and prevent their bodies from essential deep sleep cycles. 

Effects of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea causes regular breathing interruptions during sleep. As a result, those suffering from sleep apnea can experience a reduction in:

• Muscle tissue repair
• Muscle-building protein production
• Hormones production, specifically human growth hormone
• Blood flow to the muscles
• Oxygen and nutrients delivery to damaged muscle tissue

When a person’s airway is blocked, their brain triggers a wake up signal to the body in order to open the airway. Waking up like this consistently throughout the night prevents access to the deeper levels of sleep responsible for muscle growth. 

Potential Solutions

If you’re not seeing the results you think you’ve earned in the gym and think inadequate sleep could be the reason why, ensure you do the following:

• Get seven to nine hours of sleep a night
• Go to bed at the same time every night
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine before bed
• Avoid sleeping face down and favor sleeping on your side

Contact Evolution Dental Today

If you live in Calgary, Northwest Calgary, Cochrane or other nearby areas of Alberta and would like to learn more about sleep apnea treatment options, you can call Evolution Dental today at 403-768-2433 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kendra Schick.

*all procedures performed at our practice by a general dentist