During the first 2 hours or so after a meal the body is in what’s referred to as the post-prandial phase. During this time the body is working like a machine to synthesise new proteins and replenish glycogen stores in the muscles and liver. Once the nutrients have been delivered during this phase for storage, the post-absorbtive period is what follows. This is when the body is looking to use those stored nutrients as energy. In order to maintain blood glucose and tissue metabolism, the body starts to send out stored nutrients and amino acids from the muscles in to the bloodstream.
And when amino acids are leaving muscles, tissue breakdown must occur to keep up with the demand. Simply, during times of hunger, fasting, or whilst you’re sleeping during your overnight fast; muscle tissue breakdown is occurring. Your night time sleep will likely be the longest post-absorptive period, and therefore the most catabolic.
Research has confirmed this, and shows that after an overnight fast muscle protein breakdown exceeds synthesis. It’s also interesting to note that in organs such as the stomach, liver and intestines the opposite seems to be true, in that synthesis during these times often outweighs breakdown. It is believed therefore that during the night that muscle tissue is
broken down to ‘feed’ the tissues of the gut, liver, intestines and other organs around the splanchnic region (5).
Many people have whey protein before bed. This is better than nothing but it’s not quite ideal because whey is digested and abosrbed fairly rapidly.
Specifically, research shows that the human body can absorb 8 to 10 grams of whey protein per hour. This means a large amount would be required before bed to keep plasma amino acid levels high throughout the night.
Better choices are (cooked) egg protein or casein protein, which are absorbed at 3 and 6.1 grams per hour respectively.
As you can see, 30 to 40 grams of either egg or casein protein before bed is accomplishes both of our goals: it maximally stimulates protein synthesis rates and keeps amino acids in our blood for the entire night.
For egg protein, you can eat eggs or egg whites or use a powder, and for casein, you can eat a casein-rich food like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt, or use a powder.
Cottage Cheese
Rich in casein, cottage cheese is a great protein source, especially for the before bed protein shake. Casein protein is the slowest-digesting protein you can eat, meaning it prevents your muscles from being used as an energy source while you fast during the night.
Natural Peanut Butter
Natural peanut butter is extremely rich in monounsaturated fats and high in protein. It’s helps slow down digestion even further so it a perfect inclusion in your protein shake before bed.
Glutamine
Glutamine is widely used by athletes for its beneficial effects on healing, recovery, immune function and muscle growth. It is the most abundant amino acid found in muscle tissue that becomes depleted after an intense training session. A teaspoon of Glutamine is an ideal addition to your protein shake before bed.