Sleeping is as important for losing weight as a healthy diet.
Many people do not know that some studies indicate that obesity does not happen just by poor diet and exercise habits. It can happen by not getting enough sleep! Some people manage to lose weight by sleeping enough, even without changing their diet.
Appetite is controlled by hormones made in the stomach and brain. During deep sleep hormones that decrease appetite are produced. That is why after a sleepless night, there is a strong desire to eat sweets.
Sleep deprivation and weight gain.
Not sleeping enough affects four primary hormones related to weight gain.
- Ghrelin, nicknamed the hunger hormone, tells your brain when it’s hungry and it should eat.
- Leptin, nicknamed the satiety hormone, tells your brain when it’s full.
- Cortisol is a stress hormone that activates upon waking and conserves energy as fat reserves to use as fuel during your day.
- Insulin is a peptide hormone that regulates your body’s ability to process food into energy.
Sleep deprivation increases your Ghrelin production and reduces your Leptin production, so your brain thinks it’s hungrier more often and is less able to recognize when it’s full. Sleep deprivation also affects your body’s ability to properly metabolize carbohydrates. As a result, you’ll experience higher blood sugar levels, leading to increased insulin and cortisol production. As your insulin resistance grows, your body doesn’t process fat and sugars as well, instead storing more of it as fat, which results in weight gain.
It is no coincidence that people who do not sleep enough increase their chance of suffering from obesity and diabetes.
How to sleep to lose weight
Not only is the number of hours you sleep. The quality of sleep is also crucial. Just by turning on the small bathroom light in the middle of the night melatonin is reduced. Worse still is sleeping with the TV on, or checking the cell phone during the early morning hours. So turn your phone OFF!!!!!
The light of the cellphone affects Melatonin production the most. To those who check their cell phone in the middle of the night, I recommend you keep the cell phone away from the bed to avoid these negative effects.
Also, those who do not sleep deeply because their partner snores have more difficulty losing weight. ?People who work at night and sleep during the day also suffer from obesity, diabetes, and even depression.
Not enough sleep increases the appetite and preference for sweet foods, causes insulin resistance, and increases sugar in the blood faster after eating carbohydrates.
How much do I need to sleep to lose weight?
Sleeping 7 to 8 hours is the minimum your body needs to reduce the chances of getting fat. Make sure to get enough sleep and keep every distraction away from your bed to get enough rest and balance your natural hormone production to help you to control cravings and weight gain.