Dietary protein ingestion immediately after exercise increases muscle protein synthesis rates during the acute stages of post-exercise recovery. Muscle protein synthesis rates are low during overnight sleep even when dietary protein is ingested after exercise. If dietary protein is made available to the intestine during sleep, protein is normally digested and absorbed thereby increasing plasma amino acid availability and increasing muscle protein synthesis rates. Dietary protein ingested prior to sleep is effectively digested and absorbed during the night, thereby increasing plasma amino acid availability and stimulating post-exercise muscle protein accretion during overnight sleep. Ingestion of dietary protein prior to sleep may represent an effective dietary strategy to facilitate the skeletal muscle adaptive response to exercise training and to further improve exercise training efficiency.
