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Taking Protein Before Bed? When & What Kind of Protein?

When is the best time to take protein before bed? And what kind of protein should you take before you sleep?

Dear Fitness Nerd,Taking Protein Before Bed

How soon before bed should I drink protein? Right before, or a specific number of minutes before before I actually go to sleep? Thanks! — Bob

The issue here is less about the timing of when to take protein before bed, as it iswhat kind of protein to take before you go to sleep.

You should try to consume your last serving of protein as close to your bedtime as is comfortable for you. Whether that’s a protein shake before bed, or a whole food souce of protein before sleep is up to you.

Some people experience no problems eating and then immediately going to sleep, while other people find sleeping on a “full stomach” uncomfortable. If you find that taking a protein-heavy snack right before bed interferes with falling asleep, then give yourself at least 30-40 minutes between the snack and bedtime.

The idea here is to simply get some slow-digesting amino acids into you before you go to bed, since you’ll essentially be in a fasted-state overnight. This can help bluntcatabolism (muscle breakdown) during the nighttime hours. This is even more important if you are exercising in the evening.

Your protein and energy requirements during sleep will be less than during the day, so even if you eat your snack 60 minutes before bed (consuming between 20-30 grams of slower digesting protein) you should have plenty of protein to get you through the night.

So I wouldn’t sweat the timing of when to take protein before bed too much.

What’s the Best Source of Protein To Take Before Bed?

There are really four optimal times during the day to take in extra protein:

  1. In the morning when you first wake up
  2. 60-90 minutes before your workout
  3. Immediately after your workout
  4. Before bed

In the first three instances, whey protein is generally your best bet because it is rapidly digested by your body and makes amino acids quickly available at the time you most need them — in the morning when you are essentially waking up from a 7 hour fast, before you workout, and right after you exercise.

But the protein before bed is different.

Since you’ll won’t be eating for 6-8 hours (depending on your sleep patterns, of course) you’ll want to actually slow down the absorption of protein while you sleep, ensuring you have enough to get your through the extended “fast.”

You can do this a couple of ways.

  1. You can switch the type of protein you are eating. While whey is digested fairly quickly (within 90 minutes of consumption, depending on the foods you eat with it) other sources of protein take longer for the body to break down and make available. These include things like protein from meat, fish and the king of long-digesting proteins: casein.
  2. Eat other foods along with your protein that slow digestion.Whether you choose casein, whey protein or chicken breast as a pre-bedtime snack, you can slow the digestion of any protein by consuming other foods with it, like dietary fat and/or fiber.  Eating some healthy fats that are high in MUFAs, such as nuts or nut butters, along with your protein before bed can extend the digestion period and cause the protein to be absorbed more slowly.

Casein versus Whey or Meats Before Bed

Casein protein is the what you’ll hear bodybuilders typically recommend as a good protein to take before bed.

Casein is one of two primary proteins in milk (whey is the other.) While whey is admired because it is rapidly digested in the body — making it ideal for a post-workout recovery drink — casein is the exact opposite.

When casein protein hits the stomach it curdles — slowing down the bio-availability of the amino acids. Eventually, your body will digest the majority of the proteins in casein, but it takes time — between 6-8 hours.

While this wouldn’t be optimal immediately following a workout, it’s ideal before bed. Think of casein as an overnight “protein drip” when you are in bed.

Casein Protein Powder or Whole Food Sources Before Bed?

Casein protein can be bought in a powdered form like whey protein or soy protein isolate, but you can also just as easily get it by eating whole food sources of casein protein before you go to bed — things like skim milk, yogurt, quark, cottage cheese or kefir.

In fact, both milk and cottage cheese are excellent sources of whey and casein protein. For example, a one cup serving of low-fat cottage cheese has 24 grams of protein — the majority of which is the slow-digesting casein variety. This is about equal to a single scoop of casein protein powder.

My point here isn’t to discourage you from using casein powder or drinking a protein shake before sleep, but rather to let you know that there are other “whole” clean eating foods that you can eat before bedtime that may be just as effective — and probably less expensive, tastier and more enjoyable than a scoop of casein.

What If I’m Lactose Intolerant?

If you have a dairy allergy, casein may not work for you.

In those cases, you’ll probably have to use other sources of slower-digesting proteins from things like meat, poultry or fish before bed. You could also experiment around with soy protein isolate or egg protein, and slow the digestion by consuming some healthy fats along with it. Eating fibrous vegetables alongside the protein and healthy fats can also help slow digestion.

Under these circumstances, a good pre-bedtime protein snack might be bowl of tuna salad with some light mayo and a handful of almonds or nuts. In general, even when consuming sources of casein protein like cottage cheese before bed, eating some nuts or natural peanut butter along with it is a good practice.

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Comments (11)

  1. ShellMedia (2 comments) says:

    I workout after work and dont get done til about 8 PM.  I drink a protein shake on the way home and then usually eat a chicken dinner around 9, bed by 1030-11.

    I try and drink a half shake in the mornings if I had an overly hard workout the night before.  I’m thinking that I will add a large glass of milk before bed every night.

    reply
    • Matt (194 comments) says:

      Skim milk before bed is a great source of slow-digesting protein. Let us know how this works for you.

      reply
  2. Health Vim (1 comments) says:

    Or protein mixed with some solid food. Like a protein bar.. although that may be too heavy. Soy is ok as well but not as good as whey IMO..

    reply
  3. Roo (1 comments) says:

    Dear fitness Neard!
    I’ve recently started to train. My aim is to put on weight and tone up but in a sensible way because of the diabetes history in my family. In addition to my training I’m taking a muscle and weight gainer and protein shake. Any advice please?

    reply
  4. Dylan (1 comments) says:

    Taking 100% egg protien before bed is good. it takes seven to eight hours to digest. the goldstandard egg protien is what id reccomend.  Egg protien is better on non workout days as well considering it will last all day while giving your body the protein it needs.

    reply
  5. Jonathan (2 comments) says:

    should i be taking whet protein before bed because i don’t have casein?

    reply
  6. Azam Khan (1 comments) says:

    i have a skimmed milk powder, i add  tablespoons of it with 250 ml milk, which would give me 35 grams of protein and about 40 grams of carbohydrates also,

    can i take it with 30 grams of almonds before bedtime, (trying to lose body fat)
    thanks

    reply
  7. David Garvis (1 comments) says:

    thank you, this was helpful. I do have a question though; does the brand matter in most cases? if so, will you list your favorites? one more, i just started creatine and it says to take before and after my workout. i usually workout twice a day, at 7am i have football lifting and at 5pm, i have wrestling practice. when should i take the creatine? Additional info:it has me taking 3 pills twice a day with a total of i think 4 grams (4000 mg) of creatine

    reply
  8. Core Workouts – Amy (1 comments) says:

    I had read somewhere that eating low fat cottage cheese before bed helped to burn body fat while you sleep.   Is this true?   Or is it just because of the ‘protein drip’ at night that it is so beneficial?

    Thanks!
    Amy

    reply
  9. Dewydeeee (2 comments) says:

    Hey this is new to me. My friend is Dr and she told me to drink Protein Shake before going to sleep but I din’t knew that I should take it just before my bed. Thanks a lot for this blog now I very well when I have to take my protein shake and when.

    reply
  10. Mike (11 comments) says:

    I have concerns with the affects of casein protein before bed and how it may damage mt kidneys!! I have been told that taking protein right before bed is good for keeping my blood sugar stable throughout the night (I am type Diabetic) but I worry about how it may damage my kidneys. What do you know about this?

    thanks Mike

    reply
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