Does protein before bed help?
A little, mostly because it is extra protein: a pre-sleep shake added muscle and strength in a 12-week trial, but that group also ate more protein overall.
The famous trial compared protein against nothing, not against the same protein eaten earlier, so you cannot separate the timing from the extra 27.5 g a day.
Practically it is still a decent habit: it is an easy place to put protein if your day falls short, it digests fine, and nothing suggests it costs you sleep. Just do not expect it to beat the same protein at lunch.
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- 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. J Nutr 145(6). 44 young men, 12 weeks: 27.5 g of protein before sleep gave more strength (+164 vs +130 kg total) and more quadriceps growth than a calorie-free placebo. The supplement also raised daily protein.
- Trommelen, J. et al. (2023). The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans. Cell Rep Med 4(12). Protein keeps working for more than 12 hours after a large dose, which weakens the case that the night is a gap to fill.