Connection between sleep and weight loss

If you are looking to reduce some inches off of your body, not having a proper sleep will only pull you back from achieving your wishes.

There are various regular sleep schedule benefits for you only by having a good night sleep since sleep and weight loss connection is still thought of as a myth. Did you know? 35% of US adults get less than 7 hours of sleep each night and you will tend to be 25% hungrier if you sleep less than 6 hours a night.

Sleep and weight loss works hand in hand. If you get the recommended amount of sleep (generally 8 hours), then weight loss journey would turn out to be bit difficult for you despite working hard in gym. That is because less amount of sleep tends to affect your resistance to fast foods and also, you will tend to be hungrier.

There are various scientific facts related to regular sleep schedule benefits which prove that sleep and weight loss are connected to each other. Here are a few ways of how you can utilize your bed for potentially reducing some inches off your body or keep a control over your fitness-

1. Take proper sleep – Short sleep which is mostly less than 6-7 hours is linked to higher body mass index which is weight gain. This happens because sleep deprived brain negatively affects hunger and ultimately will lead you to consume high fat food and high sugar intake. Poor sleep is connected to weight gain and can lead to obesity in both adults and children.

Scientific Fact- sleeping fewer than the recommended 7 hours each night may increase the risk of weight gain and obesity.

2. Moderating your hunger – Sleep and weight loss are the interlinked. If you are not taking proper recommended amount of sleep every night, it will start affecting on your calorie intake and you will tend to eat more. This is precisely because less sleep will affect the hunger hormones and your body will make more ghrelin and less leptin.

Scientific Fact- If you are sleep-deprived, your body will tend to increase ghrelin hormone which makes you feel hungry and decrease leptin hormone which makes you feel full.

3. Effective metabolism – Resting metabolic rate (RMR) means the number of calories you burn while being asleep. This depends on factors like age, weight, sex, height and muscle mass. Lack of sleep may lead to less fat oxidation which refers to breakdown of fat cells into energy. If you tend to wake up late at night, you will be likely to indulge in late night snacking, which will further affect the RMR.

Scientific Fact- Sleep deprivation significantly reduces RMR, but with a proper sleep of at-least one night, you can bring up your RMR rate.

4. Increased physical exercise – If you sleep less, you’ll be less inclined towards physical activity and less physical activity can lead to worsened sleep. If you do any kind of physical activity once a day, you will take less time falling asleep. Less sleep at night may cause fatigue which can negatively affect your will of doing any physical activity. It is recommended to at-least do 30 minutes of physical exercise everyday in order to keep yourself healthy and fit.

Scientific Fact- Any kind of physical exercise a day can overall enhance the quality of sleep for all age groups.

Here are some tips that can help you fall asleep if you have trouble falling asleep at night or help you create a proper regime for a good night’s sleep.

• You should follow a night time routine of activities that you feel are soothing for you, for example, hot bath, listening to music, reading a book or meditating.
• Try to stay away from your cell phones, television, computers at-least 60 mins before you go to bed.
• Try to engage in at-least 30 minutes of physical exercise.
• You should aim at setting a routine where you go to bed at night and get out of bed in the morning at the same time every day to induce consistency.
• Avoid taking caffeine, alcohol or heavy meals for roughly 3 hours before you are going to bed.

The Takeaway

Sleep and weight lost has a strong two-way connection. If you are on a journey of weight loss, proper diet and physical activity is important and so does having a proper sleeping regime.

Having a fixed time to go to bed and to get out of bed in the morning can prove to be one way that can benefit you in your weight loss journey provided if you take a proper 8-hour sleep.