You finally live a healthy life, eating well and exercising regularly, and the effects are seen in your muscles looking fresh and growing well. But all of a sudden, it stopped. You continue with the things you were doing, even increasing them, but your muscles will just not respond. What is going on. The following are three reasons why this may be.
1. Sleep deprivation
This is commonly one of the most neglected areas of health for many people, but it is just as important as other areas. In fact it has been called the third pillar of health after food and exercise. If you are not getting the right amount of sleep you need daily that is between seven and eight hours, your muscles and other areas of your body will just not grow properly. Your muscles are rejuvenated when you sleep. If there is not enough time in sleep, the body cannot completely rejuvenate the muscles, so they grow less.
Sleep deprivation also causes higher amounts of the stress hormone cortisol to be released into the body, which is known to curtail the activities of the body’s human growth hormone, responsible for muscle growth. High levels of cortisol also impairs the body’s ability to store glycogen, which in turn can reduce muscle growth and function.
2. Protein deprived
One common mistake made by many who want to build their muscles is that, they do not take in enough protein. Protein is the main nutrient your muscles are made up of. And if you are training hard to build your muscles, it is only common sense that you will have to increase your protein intake to make more raw materials, available to the body to make and maintain the increased muscle mass.
3. Electronics
Using too much electronics like phones and laptops can also reduce muscle mass. Electronic usage usually increases stress and the cortisol hormone which as already discussed above, impacts muscle development. Electronic usage around bedtime also reduces the levels of the sleep hormone melatonin released which in turn reduces sleep and can hence impact muscle growth.
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