Protein before bed: does quark help muscle recovery?

TLDR

A serving of protein before bed, such as a tub of quark, is digested and absorbed well overnight.
Studies show it raises muscle protein synthesis overnight, especially on days you did strength training.
It is mainly useful if you struggle to get enough protein during the day, or if you are older.
A small serving of 30 to 40 grams of protein doesn’t seem to disturb sleep in studies.

On training days I often have a tub of quark before bed. For a long time I did it because I’d picked it up somewhere, not because I knew whether it made sense. So I dug into the research. And surprisingly, part of it comes from Maastricht.

What happens overnight

After a workout your muscle is sensitive to protein, and that effect lasts quite a while. At night, though, you go eight hours without eating. Luc van Loon’s group at Maastricht University tested what happens when you take protein just before sleep. In a study by Res and colleagues (2012), casein taken before bed was digested and absorbed well, and muscle protein synthesis rose overnight after an evening workout.

Does that lead to more muscle as well?

For that you need longer studies. In a study by Snijders and colleagues (2015), young men did strength training for twelve weeks. The group that took a protein drink every evening gained more muscle mass and strength than the group on a placebo drink. Important detail: that group also ended up eating more protein in total. So it isn’t certain whether the timing itself made the difference, or simply the extra protein.

In older men, Kouw and colleagues (2017) saw that 40 grams of casein before bed increased overnight muscle protein synthesis. That is interesting for longevity, because protecting muscle mass becomes more important as you get older. More on that in my piece on protein after fifty.

My sober conclusion

Your total protein per day remains the most important thing. Protein before bed is mainly a handy extra serving. If you already spread your protein well across the day, you probably gain less from it. If you train in the evening or fall short during the day, it helps more.

Doesn’t it disturb your sleep?

In the studies using 30 to 40 grams of protein, no sleep disruption was reported. A heavy meal late in the evening is a different story, as I wrote about evening meals and sleep. So keep it small and light.

Practical Engy tip

On training days: 250 grams of low-fat quark or skyr (around 25 to 30 grams of protein), half an hour to an hour before bed. Perhaps with a few berries or a couple of nuts. If you have kidney problems, talk to your doctor about your protein intake first.

Sources (selection)

Res PT et al. (2012). Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 44(8), 1560–1569.
Snijders T et al. (2015). Protein ingestion before sleep increases muscle mass and strength gains during prolonged resistance-type exercise training in healthy young men. Journal of Nutrition, 145(6), 1178–1184.
Kouw IWK et al. (2017). Protein ingestion before sleep increases overnight muscle protein synthesis rates in healthy older men: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nutrition, 147(12), 2252–2261.
Trommelen J, van Loon LJC (2016). Pre-sleep protein ingestion to improve the skeletal muscle adaptive response to exercise training. Nutrients, 8(12), 763.