Benefits of Having a Protein Shake Before Bed

Written by Andrew.P, MD | Reviewed by Kevin, Nutritionist (M.Sc. Medical Science)

We’ve long known that protein is a much-needed macronutrient. Macronutrients are food components that the body requires in large quantities to live, grow, and function in good health—these include protein, fats, and carbohydrates. However, recent research has shed new light on protein benefits that go well beyond providing us with energy and growth, and that taking a protein shake before bed may enhance these nutritional advantages. Read on to find out protein’s many benefits and how you can use bedtime protein to invigorate your healthy lifestyle.

Why Drink a Protein Shake?

Protein shakes are a necessary part of a high-protein diet because most individuals cannot meet these protein goals from their diet alone. Why should anyone make a high-protein diet part of their daily health regimen? Well, high-protein diets have been shown by clinical studies to have many far-reaching health benefits, including achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the body’s fat burden while maintaining lean muscle, promoting muscle toning from exercise, and reducing the incidence of many of the health problems associated with excess body weight (1).

You can calculate your Dietary Reference Values (DRV’s) for protein on the British Nutrition Foundation’s website (2,3). DRV’s are scientifically derived amounts of nutrients that we require to support good health and function. However, the benefits of a high-protein diet are magnified when we take in an amount of protein that is well above the DRV amounts.

In recent years, research scientists have proven that a high-protein diet reduces body weight, and improves body composition by preserving muscle while reducing body fat (4). We also know that when we get more protein than the DRV, this fat-loss strategy works even better. In order to reach these optimal levels of protein intake, some sort of protein supplementation is necessary. To get it entirely from the diet would require a large amount of caloric intake, a great deal of time preparing and consuming meals, and an expensive grocery list. Protein shakes are the convenient, inexpensive, calorie-wise solution.

How Can a Protein Shake Help You Lose Weight?

Protein helps us lose weight by boosting our metabolism in a positive way, including during sleep. It also reduces our appetite, and promotes the development and maintenance of lean, calorie-burning muscle. Having a protein shake before bed is a great way to optimise these positive effects of protein intake.

We lose weight when we create a “negative energy balance.” This means that we take in fewer calories than we use. However, a negative energy balance can get in the way of healthy weight loss because it increases our appetite and burns off some of our muscle, as well as our body fat. This makes it more likely that we will regain any weight we lose, because we are unlikely to stick to a calorie-deficit diet when we are hungry all the time, and the lost muscle mass will reduce the calories we burn (4,5).

Protein supplementation offers a solution to this weight-loss dilemma. Clinical studies have shown that a high-protein diet increases our feeling of fullness and induces weight loss while preserving our calorie-burning muscles (6).

A high-protein diet also increases how many calories we burn by increasing our diet-induced energy expenditure (DIT) (6). DIT refers to how many calories our body burns when digesting a nutrient. Protein is by far the most difficult macronutrient for our body to digest, so we burn a lot of calories processing a high-protein diet. Studies have shown that our DIT may comprise as much as 10% of our daily calorie burning, depending on how much protein we take in. We burn 10 times more calories when we digest protein than when we digest fat.

Foods with a low glycemic index (GI, a measure of how much a particular food elevates our blood sugar) are of particular interest to anyone who wishes to improve their health or lose weight, and especially those with diabetes), because low GI foods fuel our body without causing spikes in blood sugars (7). Protein has a very low GI, and concentrated sources of protein—such as Almased Almond-Vanilla Natural High Protein Supplement and Weight Loss Shake — have an especially low GI, making them an excellent choice for keeping our blood sugars even and lowered throughout the day.

Readers with diabetes or at risk of diabetes may wish to check out our diabetes diet plan, which includes a bedtime protein shake.

Why Drink a Protein Shake Before Bed?

It is a common misbelief that eating before bed would promote weight gain and poor health. After all, it makes sense that our body would store the food energy as fat while we sleep. However, clinical studies have shown that this is only true when we eat large, mixed-nutrient, high-calorie meals before bed. When we limit our bedtime intake to a single macronutrient—most especially protein—the effects on body composition and health are positive. This is especially the case when the bedtime meal is nutrient-dense, making a bedtime protein shake the perfect choice (8,9,10).

For those who exercise or live an active lifestyle, extensive research evidence shows that pre-sleep protein improves recovery and muscle gains after exercise. Any kind of physical activity requires ample protein intake to support gains from that exercise, and coming up short on our protein intake limits our gains from our exercise efforts (11).

Is it good to take a protein shake before bed? A bedtime protein shake is a simple and convenient way to get enough protein to support weight loss. Further studies show that a high-protein diet contributes to weight loss by boosting our metabolism so that we burn more calories as we go about our normal daily activities (4). This also happens at night, so that our body continues the calorie burn while we sleep, rather than slowing down. A bedtime protein shake is an excellent way to make sure we have enough protein in our system to keep the calorie burn going through the night.

It has been well established by research that protein increases our feelings of fullness (i.e., satiety). This is partly because dietary protein increases our satiety hormones (including glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), the one targeted by popular weight-loss medications) (4). A bedtime protein shake helps us to feel full through the night.

Which Protein Is Best to Consume Before Bed?

Protein sources that contain the essential amino acid tryptophan are excellent choices for bedtime protein supplementation. This is because tryptophan has been associated with improved sleep quality (12). For example, Almased Original Natural High Protein Supplement and Weight Loss Shake contains 300 mg of tryptophan per serving, making it an excellent choice for a bedtime dietary supplement.

A high-protein diet promotes muscle toning and prevents lean muscle loss while we lose weight. Keeping our protein levels high throughout the day and night ensures that we optimise this advantage of protein. However, the amino acid leucine is critical for muscle support, so a protein source rich in leucine is essential (13). Almased Original contains a healthy 2,000 mg of leucine per serving, making it an excellent choice for protein supplementation.

There has been a worldwide trend to move from animal-based protein to plant-based protein, largely due to concerns with environmental sustainability and health effects. Soya protein has become especially popular due to its high digestibility (95-98%), well-balanced profile of essential amino acids, pleasing texture, and high protein content (14).

Research has shown that soya protein contains micro ingredients, such as potent antioxidants, that further promote good health. Specifically, there is good evidence that soy protein lowers cholesterol, reduces menopause symptoms, reduces cancer risk, and improves bone health (14). Protein supplements derived from soya—such as Almased—have become the premier choice for bedtime protein supplementation.

Is It Ever Bad to Drink a Protein Shake Before Bed?

Taking a protein shake too close to bedtime may result in nighttime gastroesophageal reflux (where the contents of the stomach come up the esophagus) in some individuals. This may be avoided by consuming the protein shake at least 30 minutes before lying down (15).

It is widely believed that a bedtime shake may disrupt nighttime sleep. A large 2021 study shed some light on this issue. The study found that eating or drinking less than 1 hour before sleep was significantly associated with longer sleep duration for men and women but was also associated with more brief episodes of waking up after falling asleep. The study authors suggested that for people who have a problem with frequent awakenings during the night, extending the interval between their bedtime eating and drinking will likely reduce this problem (16).

Another study found that nighttime food craving was associated with poor sleep. Given the impact of a bedtime protein shake on reducing appetite during sleep, this study would suggest that a shake before bed would be a positive factor for reducing sleep-disrupting food cravings (17).

How Long Before Bed Can I Drink a Protein Shake?

The timing of a bedtime protein shake is a matter of personal preference and may involve some trial and error. The closer to bedtime the shake, the longer the appetite-suppressing and metabolism-boosting effects will last through the night and into the morning. As well, sleep quality may be best when the shake is consumed within 1 hour of bedtime (16). However, if you experience gastroesophageal reflux or frequent awakenings after falling asleep, then you can reduce those problems by taking your protein shake earlier in the evening, as much as 3 to 4 hours before bed (9).

Special Considerations for Women

A protein shake before bed may be especially beneficial for women. Recent research has shown that women likely have protein requirements that are far higher than the current Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) of 0.75 g per kg of body weight per day. It appears that due to differences in metabolism, women may even require more protein than men, and even women with a sedentary lifestyle may require more than the daily RNI. Women who are more active require more protein to adequately recover from their exercise, perhaps as much as 60% more.

Pregnant women have elevated requirements for dietary protein due to the increased needs of the developing foetus and maternal tissues that support the pregnancy. Research suggests up to 1.1g per kg body weight per day.

Taking a protein shake before bed is a safe and convenient way for women to optimise their protein intake to realize the benefits of a high-protein diet.

Almased Protein Shakes and Your Goals

Whether your goals are an improved healthy diet, weight loss, body reshaping, improved muscle tone, or competing in sports, Almased’s Almond-Vanilla supplement provides a convenient, evidence-based way to ensure your protein intake optimizes your efforts. With 26 g of protein per serving, Almased provides a convenient way to boost your protein intake and achieve your daily macronutrient targets.

Almased is a high-quality protein, with essential amino acids in an optimal evidence-based ratio. Almased also provides a rich variety of vitamins and minerals to further support good health and function.

While protein shakes cannot replace a healthful, balanced diet, they can be an important part of a nutritious diet for individuals who wish to reap the benefits of a high-protein diet.