4 Ways Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight
There are days when you have so much to do that you wish a day had more than twenty four hours. Since that isn’t possible we try to squeeze in as much as we can in a day. As a result, our metabolism goes haywire and we end up with a sleep deficit and irregular eating habits. Loss of sleep can result in a lot of problems. You tend to be irritable a lot, feel tired and fatigued and eat a lot. Weight gain and lack of concentration is some of the bad effects that lack of sleep can do to you. If you are planning on losing some weight and are already on a diet, you should know that a deep sleep for at least 6-7 hours is essential in aiding weight loss. Here are the few ways in which sleep can help you lose weight.
1. A good night’s sleep keeps you relaxed and your metabolism normal
When you are relaxed and your metabolism is normal, you digest food easily and you also won’t be subjected to constant hunger pangs. Lack of sleep can make you eat whenever you feel like it and snacking at odd hours will only help you pile on weight and not help reduce it. Going to bed early and waking up early is the best way to keep your body healthy and eat properly.
2. Cortisol spike from too little sleep
There happens a cortisol spike in your body when you get too little sleep. This spike makes you want to conserve energy in your waking hours making you lazy and helping you to pile on those pounds. A good’s nights rest on the other hand helps you by giving you with enough energy to get through the next morning. The more energy you burn the more weight you lose.
3. Ghrelin and Leptin
Your body also produces hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin that makes you want to eat more and more when you are sleeping less. Gherlin is the hormone that makes you want to eat more but leptin is the hormone that signals your brain to put the fork down when you’ve had enough. But less sleep decreases the production of leptin and your brain does not know when you need to stop eating. Sleep more so as to balance out these two hormones and lose weight.
4. Less sleep equals less processing of insulin your body
Less sleep means the production of insulin by your body drops by 30%. When your pancreas aren’t secreting enough insulin, your body finds it difficult to breakdown the fat and it gets stored as fat. And this is the reason you have fat stored in all those unwanted places. Sleep well if you do not want those ungainly bulges in your body. Good sleep is a great way to get started in your weight loss mission.
Sleep is very important. It is as important as eating right and exercising in losing weight. There is nothing wrong in taking a nap in the middle of the day. Contrary to popular belief that sleeping during the day makes you put on weight, napping for less than an hour gives you more energy during the day and helps recharge your body to remain more active.
