The effects of waking in the middle of the night for a snack

[blood_drinker]

I have been wanting to try this. Some people claim that they make up to 1lbs more in gains. Overhyped I know, but how much more do you think you can gain (or have you gained) by doing this? I realize that you should stay up as little as possible so you can get back to sleep with no problems.

If possible, I'd like to avoid "Theories" and get some personal experience. Also, if you are giving me pers. exp, give me some of your overall diet details.

SIDE NOTE: I don't want to have to shake something in the blender. I have a 2month old beagle sleeping next to kitchen that bawls all night if I wake him up. Just in case you recommend an MRP that is not instantized (sp). BTW, I dont have access to many of the fancy products you guys have. Just plain whey, and real food (including pb and cottage cheese).
Thanks in advance
bl00d

 

[diamonddiceclay]

you probably already know this, but dan duchaine advised eating something high in carbs every 2 hours including the middle of the nite when on the 1st day of your carb up-of course, if you're not on a keto diet, this would not apply to you

 

[HumanShell]

Just pre-mix a protien shake before bed, and have it sitting by your bed. Wake, slam, drink some extra water, sleep.

 

[MarkFlC5]

SIDE NOTE: I don't want to have to shake something in the blender. I have a 2month old beagle sleeping next to kitchen that bawls all night if I wake him up. Just in case you recommend an MRP that is not instantized (sp). BTW, I dont have access to many of the fancy products you guys have. Just plain whey, and real food (including pb and cottage cheese).
Thanks in advance
bl00d [/B]

Have u consdiered sharing the shake with your beagle so he won't bawl? Actually, that would probably make it worse, disregard.

 

[blood_drinker]

LOL

seriously - have any of you actually tried this? It's easy to say how to do it, but I want to know your results.

 

[MS]

What humanshell recommended is good advice. Put your prepared meal in a leakproof container right by you bed and give it a couple of vigorous shakes just before downing it. Do this just after you get back from going to the bathroom (because as we all konw you should be drinking plenty of water to keep ya going all night long).

 

[blood_drinker]

What humanshell recommended is good advice. Put your prepared meal in a leakproof container right by you bed and give it a couple of vigorous shakes just before downing it. Do this just after you get back from going to the bathroom (because as we all konw you should be drinking plenty of water to keep ya going all night long).

I know I should try a slower digesting protein than whey, but so far that is all I can get. I can get casein for the same price as a gram of coke -something not in my budget. Could I go for cottage cheese (casein) you think? I really don't care much about the fat gain right now as I know im gonna get fat in the long run anyway. So, do you think eating fats or carbs would make a difference in building muscle overnight? Like a cottage cheese sandwich

 

[blood_drinker]

*clears throat* on whole wheat might I emphasize.

 

[15yroldinNY]

I'd go with the cottage cheese bro...I love that shit, plus its like the best shit out there for you..

 

[MR. BMJ]

Just mix it in a shaker like MS mentioned...or make it before bed like humanshell mentioned. Also, I would just mix it with skim milk. Milk is a slow digesting food. I would like to note that the whole point of eating a "really slow" meal before bed is to keep protein synthesis up while you are sleeping. On the contrary, because you are waking up in the middle of the night anyway (in a few hours after falling asleep/last meal), then you may not have to worry about the whole "long-term" digesting meals. I'm not recommending some high GI meal, but something moderate should do for both meals (including the one you have in the middle of the night since it will only be a few hours until you wake-up anyway).

MR. BMJ

 

[Crazy K]

There are lots of whey proteins that don't need to be blended.

Leave a scoop (or two) in a glass and when you wake just add some water and stir it up. It might not taste the greatest, but it gets the job done and you don't need to put a lot of thought into it. ie: sleep walk

 

[Crazy K]

make that a whey/casein drink....slower absorbtion

Problend 55 is decent.

 

[life is good]

Yes, I am currently waking up and drinking a pre-mixed protein shake mixed with milk. And I am currently gaining. But is it because of the the shake or becuase i walk around bloated with freakin food all day
probably its the excess calories. But I do it anyway to make sure im always in a posotive nitrogen balance, just keeping my bases covered. Im just saying your not going to see any awesome overnight results just cause you eat in the middle of the night. oh yah that cottage cheese sandwich sounds like a pretty good idea. although nasty. hope that helps.

 

[muscleburn]

hey blood_drinker

when i first read about waking half way through the night for an extra carb and protein load, that was just half of the story. The missing link is that when u go back to sleep, u get an extra dose of natural sleep GH which if u can combine with an after training nap, thats 4 GH hits a day. (except on non training days)

I had great results from it, but one thing u said about getting right back to sleep, it doesnt work like that, u have to be awake for at least 20 mins to get another GH hit. This is a problem that i eventually ran into. I got back to sleep, eventually and was late for work in the morning. So gave it up.

But with no change in training or diet, except the extra one during the night (30g whey protein and 50g of maxijul and a few tablespoons of EV olive oil), over 4 weeks (all I lasted) i made double my gains than the previous weeks.

 

[blood_drinker]

bro i find it impossible to sleep after training. my heart is just beating so fucking hard and while I am tired, I am wired at the same time. You probably know the feeling. What specifically were your results trying this after training nap?

 

[THE BOUNCER]

i just keep the protein powder in my room and when i get up to go to the bathroom, i throw a few scoops in a cup and add water. i don't like the whole pre-mix theory. it seems to me if whey is sitting in liquid for 3-5 hours, it will lose it's posative affects.

 

[blood_drinker]

The bouncer that's good thinking. Although i will have to mix it with water so the milk doesnt spoil besides my bed. o well i can take it no sweat.

 

[dieseltwin]

Muscleburn, you talked about a second GH release, which you could get because the stage 3 and 4 slow-wave sleep occurs in the first hour and a half sleep cycle after you fall asleep. However, you can also think of it the other way around, you get most of the REM sleep towards the 7 and 8 hour mark of continous sleep. REM sleep is where all memory organization and reorganization and all learning and being able to learn the next day occurs, so bloodrinker since you are a student (and so am I) you could think about what matters to you more. Its also shown that you have more of the slow-wave sleep after a day of heavy excersice and more REM sleep after heavy studying, so you if you want you could only wake up in the middle of the night after lifting days. just my thoughts.

-dieseltwin

 

[muscleburn]

blood_drinker,

the nap after training doesnt have to be a deep sleep, just a nap for about an hour, enough to get that GH release. When I did the nap after training and the split sleep at night, I doubled my weight gains from previous months and loss a few pounds of fat also. So the net gains in muscle were very good, but like I said a very hard discipline to follow.

dieseltwin,

The REM sleep that we enter, happens at the end of stage 4 sleep, therefore it has been proven that we can enter REM sleep twice a night. This all depends on how well we sleep and if we are over training or not. But the best way to find out if u have been in REM sleep when u wake during the night is if u have an erection. This function is a major part of REM sleep and is one of the tests they use to establish physical or psychological impotence.

 

[La0Tz3]

i dont know any theory about the different sleep phases (at least not anymore) but i remember from personal experience that if i wake up for half an hour to an hour, then go back to sleep, for the next 2 - 3 hours i will have the most intense dreams, and dreaming is REM sleep right?
its a technique used to induce lucid dreams .. sleep 5 hours, wake, then go back to sleep and you'll have awesome dreams which are easily remembered and very vivid

 

[blood_drinker]

I know bro !!! I tried eating in the middle of the night and stayed up listening to music at 3 am. went back to sleep and holy shit ! very intense dreams and kinda screwed my mind for the whole day thinkin about what it meant or just remembering it, it was very real.

 

[QuoVadis]

Just some personal experience with eating overnight:

Last year I started a job that required me to work three nights a week, 6 PM to 6 AM, the dreaded "Midnight Shift".

What I've found is that I can put on weight so much easier than I ever could before. Since starting this shift in April of 2000 I have gone from 155 lbs to 170, without any training or a bodybuilding diet of any kind (been on hiatus for a while). Sure, most of that is fat, but it's dispersed and not localized in my gut or anything. Since last May I have been training again and eating properly but I think it's safe to assume that eating overnight will definitely make the weight "stick", or will slow down your metabolism.

Reversing my eating schedule during those two days I'm daysleeping has made a huge difference in my metabolism, and I am an ecto who could eat tons of shit and never gain a pound. Just changing my eating schedule has made a ton of difference for me.

I know this is borderline topic here, but if you really wanna bulk, try reversing your eating/sleeping schedule for a couple days a week!

 

[musclepump20]

I only mix some whey n milk or eat a few spoonfulls of cottage cheese if I get up in the middle of the night. If I wake up on my own, I'll make something. Otherwise I don't want to disturb my sleep. I guess I kinda listen to my body.