Muscle tissue breakdown during sleep?

[GhostFighter]

If u didnt feed well at night and go to sleep very hungry (many people cant sleep when there hungry but i can!) can your body break down ur muscle for energy?

[RichardZ]

"Conversely, when you go without food, such as when you’re sleeping at night, the making of muscle protein falls off sharply. To a lesser degree, the breakdown of muscle proteins also declines, so you end up with a net loss of protein. Therefore, going without food overnight or for an extended period has a catabolic effect on your muscle tissue."

Good article here;

http://www.powerbar.com/articles/76/Muscle-Building_Nutrition_on_the_Cutting_Edge.aspx

"

[mr_obvious]

Small tangent, but this is why I weight train in the morning. First, I can stack the majority of my protein and calories in the front half of the day, in support of muscle fiber repair. Secondly, cardio or MA in the evenings burns off any excess glycogen which might be converted to fat during hibernation.

But, yeah....the metabolism drops off significantly during sleep, which includes any synthesis from muscle protein to glycogen.

[sperki]

Ghostfighter, I'm not sure that I exactly understand your question. But of course your body can use muscle for energy. It's technically called starving, and it can happen anytime, not just in your sleep. The key requirement is a shortage of glycogen (what your body typically uses for energy) and a low enough percentage of body fat that muscle and other active cells are destroyed and converted to ATP for energy. It's a tremendously inefficient process and not really good for you. If you live in a city with a university or college, folks in the exercise and sports science department will probably be excited to talk with you about this topic.