Are you trying to lose weight but the weight scale is not budging? Maybe it is time to look into your sleep schedule. Often we consider sleep as a necessity of our body but don’t measure its priority. But the fact is getting less than the recommended amount of sleep each night can increase your risk of certain health conditions, including obesity. In this blog, we will discuss the science behind a good sleep schedule and maintaining a healthy weight, along with the reasons how sleep habits affect your ability to lose weight, and how sleep deprivation impacts your appetite.
Related post – Why a consistent sleep schedule is important?
The science between sleep and weight loss
Here are a few points that you should mind while relating the connection between sleep and weight loss :
- Sleeping less than recommended 7 hours each night may increase the risk of obesity and weight gain.
- A lack of sleep has a high chance to increase your desire to eat more high calorie food and decrease your ability to resist them.
- The neurotransmitters ghrelin and leptin are thought to be central to appetite. Ghrelin promotes hunger, and leptin contributes to feeling full. A lack of sleep may affect the body’s regulation of these neurotransmitters. This causes you to overeat.
- Inadequate sleep is associated with an increased risk of obesity. On the other hand the increased risk of obesity may lead to reduced sleep quality.
- Sleeping less than 7 hours each night not only increase the chance of obesity and weight gain but also heart disease, stroke and depression.
- Researchers found that less sleep altered levels of endocannabinoid, which are chemical signals that affect your appetite and your brain’s reward system.
Does Sleep Increase Metabolism?
Metabolism is a chemical process in which the body converts the food we eat and drink into energy needed to survive. All of our collective activities, from breathing to exercising and everything in between, are part of metabolism. With exercise you can temporarily increase metabolism, however, sleep cannot8. As a result, metabolism actually slows about 15% during sleep, and it reaches its lowest level in the morning.
In fact, many studies have shown that sleep deprivation which may be the cause of any of these -self-induction, insomnia, untreated sleep apnea, or other sleep disorders, commonly leads to metabolic deregulation. Poor sleep is associated with increased oxidative stress, glucose (blood sugar) intolerance (a precursor to diabetes), and insulin resistance. Extra time spent awake may increase the appetite, and sleeping less may disrupt circadian rhythms, leading to weight gain.
How sleep is related to exercise?
You may find exercise one of the finest way to maintain weight. But if you are sleep-deprived it makes your exercise schedule less effective and risky as well. When you lose sleep you will have less energy for exercise and physical activity. Also, feeling tired can also make sports and exercising less safe, especially activities like weightlifting and or those requiring balance. While researchers are still working to understand this connection, it’s well known that exercise is essential to maintaining weight loss and overall health.
Getting regular exercise can improve sleep quality, especially if that exercise involves natural light. While even taking a short walk during the day may help improve sleep, more activity can have a more dramatic impact. Engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week can improve daytime concentration and decrease daytime sleepiness.
Tips for healthy sleep hygiene
If you establish a healthy sleep habit that can help improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Follow a nightly routine that includes time for relaxing activities like taking a bath, listening to music, or reading.
- Turn your bedroom into a healthy sleep environment by dimming the lights and setting the thermostat to an ideal sleep temperature of 65°F (18.3°C).
- Aim to get out of bed in the morning and go to sleep at night around the same time each day.
- Turn off electronics — including your phone, television, and computer — at least 60 minutes before bedtime.
- In the evening hours, avoid caffeine, alcohol, and large meals with a high-fat content.
- Reduce stress levels through mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, and other relaxation exercises.
- Engage in 30 or more minutes of exercise and physical activity each day.
- Speak with your doctor if changing your sleep habits doesn’t help or you have concerns about your sleep hygiene.