{"id":1133,"date":"2025-08-10T05:24:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T05:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/?p=1133"},"modified":"2025-08-10T05:31:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T05:31:04","slug":"sleep-part-1-exercise-and-recovery-hormones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/2025\/08\/10\/sleep-part-1-exercise-and-recovery-hormones\/","title":{"rendered":"SLEEP: Part 1 &#8211; Exercise &#038; Hormones"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"529\" src=\"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1024x529.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1134\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-1024x529.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-300x155.png 300w, https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-768x397.png 768w, https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image.png 1520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently I took part in a podcast where I was asked, \u201cwhat is the most important factor for recovery?\u201d&nbsp; While optimal physical recovery is certainly multi-faceted, what domain might be the most important? Nutrition? Stretching? How about an ice bath following a massage\u2026or a proper aerobic cool-down?&nbsp; My unequivocal answer was SLEEP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><u>Sleep and hormones<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know that during deep non-REM sleep cycles, the body produces its highest levels of anabolic recovery hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormone, and insulin-growth factor.&nbsp; These hormones increase hypertrophy (muscle growth)and protein synthesis, while also increasing lipolytic activity(fat-burning) at rest.&nbsp; A drop in anabolic hormone secretion leads to impaired recovery and rebuilding of muscle, tendon, and bone remodeling in the body.&nbsp; In fact, three consecutive days of NREM (slow wave) sleep deficit can cut TT levels in half!&nbsp; When considering hormone release, one could infer that sleep quality is more important than sleep quantity; however, both factors are crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep is critically important for remodeling and recovery in the brain, and a deficit in this type of sleep negatively affects fine motor skills, decision making, reaction time, and concentration.&nbsp; It can also reduce memory, learning capacity, and even lower a person\u2019s pain threshold and time to exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, a lack of sleep increases adrenal (stress) hormones such as cortisol that inhibit muscle growth.&nbsp; Poor sleep also influence hormones like ghrelin and leptin, which act to increase hunger and reduces satiety signals (full stomach feeling).&nbsp; Some metabolic problems caused by lack of sleep occur because the brain craves fat and sugar when sleepy \u2013 further leading to excess weight gain.&nbsp; Further investigations of sleep deprivation reveal increased risk for obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, osteoporosis, depression, compromised immunity, and even multiple types of cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>.&nbsp; A few more \u2018eye-opening\u2019 facts about sleep deficits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Studies have shown that sleep deprived people even show delays in showing, interpreting emotion; non-verbal skills that researchers believe to make up 65% of all communication.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>After 21 hours without sleep, task performance is worse than when legally drunk (0.08 BAC).<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong><em>Research has shown the same beta-amyloid plaques in the brain present with sleep deprivation (consistent 6 hours\/night or less*) similar to dementia, Alzheimer\u2019s, and Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*Significant detrimental effects with just one night (<u>&lt;<\/u>5 hours) or 3+ nights (<u>&lt;<\/u>6) hours of sleep<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><u>Sleep and Exercise<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people know that the body\u2019s natural circadian rhythm is dictated by the rising and setting of the sun.&nbsp; But fewer may realize that our bodies reach their maximum physiological readiness in the afternoon hours &#8211; sometime between 2 and 7 pm \u2013 with peaks in coordination, muscle strength and temperature, blood pressure, optimal cardiovascular efficiency and reaction time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years I have been dumbfounded as to why many groups of athletes and tactical operators prefer early morning training sessions \u2013 which tend to show up to an 80% increase in catabolic stress hormones compared to exercise at other times!&nbsp; Many use highly caffeinated products like pre-workout or energy drinks just to survive these zero-dark-thirty workouts; which acts to further increase epinephrine and catecholamines, leading to accelerated glycogen depletion and&nbsp;blood lactate accumulation\u2026not to mention an increased injury risk due from dehydration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exercise later in the day is most effective for increasing overall daily testosterone production, and can almost create a \u2018second spike\u2019 in anabolic hormone levels.&nbsp; For those morning larks who sometimes experience an afternoon lull with energy, I would advise using short \u201cpowernaps\u201d &nbsp;&#8211; which have also been found to boost anabolic hormone release along with a rejuvenation in both physical and mental energy.&nbsp; Coaches should remember that progressive overload always involves some continuum of fatigue, heavy training periods or loads should NOT be initiated if a chronic lack of sleep is suspected.&nbsp; This can quickly lead to overtraining or overuse injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;It is important to realize that these risks are not just limited to the gym. Early work start times also lead to a sharp rise in emergencies during the afternoon \u2018danger window\u2019 (including drowsy driving fatalities or accidents operating dangerous machinery.&nbsp; In fact, each year there is a predictable spike in accidents and ER admissions during the \u2018spring forward\u2019 shift in daylight saving times &#8211; when people are robbed of just one hour of sleep at night!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not long ago I experienced my own health scare after a chronic lack of sleep due to an early morning work schedule.&nbsp; In my case it was a very severe case of Bell\u2019s palsy, which took nearly nine months to fully recover from.&nbsp; I realize that even though we can exercise common sense and listen to our own bodies, we may not always be in complete control of our exercise or work schedules.&nbsp; Therefore it can also be good to practice good sleep hygiene in the evening hours leading up to bedtime.&nbsp; A full list of some of these sleep hygiene tips (as well as things to avoid) will be included in my next blog! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>&#8211; CHRIS BORGARD<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em><u>References<\/u><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Short sleep duration is associated with a wide variety of medical conditions among U.S. military service members. Knapik et al, Sleep Medicine; January 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Increased Risk of Upper Respiratory Infection in Military Recruits Who Report Sleeping Less than 6 Hours Per Night.&nbsp; Wentz et al, Military Medicine; 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Augmenting hippocampal-prefrontal neuronal synchrony during sleep enhances memory consolidation in humans.&nbsp; Geva-Sagiv et. al, Nature Neuroscience; Aug 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sleep and Association with Cardiovascular Risk Among Midwestern U.S. Firefighters. Cabrera et al, Frontiers in Endocrinology; Nov&nbsp; 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. Mah et al, Sleep Research Society; July 2011.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&nbsp;Age Related Changes in Slow-wave sleep, REM sleep and Relationship with GH &amp; Cortisol Levels in Healthy Men. Von Cauter et al, JAMA;&nbsp; &nbsp;2000.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&nbsp;Shift Work and Sleep Quality among Urban Police Officers. Fekedulegn et al, J Occup Environ Med; March 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently I took part in a podcast where I was asked, \u201cwhat is the most important factor for recovery?\u201d&nbsp; While optimal physical recovery is certainly multi-faceted, what domain might be the most important? Nutrition? Stretching? How about an ice bath following a massage\u2026or a proper aerobic cool-down?&nbsp; My unequivocal answer was SLEEP.&nbsp; Sleep and hormones &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/2025\/08\/10\/sleep-part-1-exercise-and-recovery-hormones\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;SLEEP: Part 1 &#8211; Exercise &#038; Hormones&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1133"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1141,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133\/revisions\/1141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.workoutstructure.com\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}