If you’ve been struggling to lose weight despite sticking to a consistent workout routine and being committed to eating a healthy and balanced diet, you may need to look beyond the obvious to determine why your efforts have been less than satisfactory. Several reasons may hinder your weight loss journey, and one of the major ones is improper sleep. It may seem unrelated at first, but all lifestyle habits contribute to the health and wellness of your body, and sleep is no different!
In this article, we’ll explore insights into how sleep plays a pivotal role in weight loss and how it can lead to better health and fitness.
Weight Loss & Sleep
Now, you may wonder about the connection between sleep and weight loss. The average adult human requires 6-7 hours of sleep. Research indicates that sleeping less than that can lead to higher body mass and greater waist circumferences. Studies also found that participants who had better quality and duration of sleep were far more successful in their efforts.
Here’s the thing: when it comes to weight loss, we often focus on diet and exercise but always overlook sleep, which is an essential factor. Consistent quality sleep is vital as it rejuvenates the body and plays a significant role in weight loss. Poor sleep not only leaves you tired and sluggish, but it also hinders your efforts to lose weight.
Here are ten ways sleep routine may be affecting your weight loss.
Lack of Sleep May Impact Your Appetite
Sleep regulates the most vital hormones influencing the appetite, namely ghrelin and leptin. Insufficient sleep disrupts these hormones. It is believed that leptin helps people feel full, while ghrelin encourages hunger. Short sleep increases the ghrelin levels and reduces the leptin levels, making a person feel hungrier for the rest of the day. Thus, this hormonal imbalance leads to overeating, craving high-calorie foods, and making poor food choices that directly affect the weight loss progress.
Leads to Stress and Fat Storage
Lack of sleep alters how the brain works, primarily in decision-making. It also assists in increasing cortisol, which is a stress hormone, particularly around the abdomen. Higher cortisol levels lead to cravings for more sugary food and make it challenging to lose weight around the belly, making it difficult to shed the stubborn fat that settles around there.
Affects Weight Maintenance
Insufficient sleep lowers energy levels, and fatigue can hinder you from engaging in workouts and physical activity throughout the day. Poor weight maintenance may be caused by a higher appetite and the urge to snack, slowing down weight loss.
An Impaired Metabolism
Sleep influences the body’s glucose, and a lack of it can lead to insulin resistance. As a result, the body is less efficient at processing sugar, leading to higher blood sugar levels. Excess glucose is stored around the body’s midsection, slowing the fat-burning potential.
Reduced Muscle Recovery
Working out causes your muscles to “rip” apart, and your body repairs and builds better and stronger muscle tissue afterward. If you are not getting enough sleep, this recovery is deterred, thereby reducing the effectiveness of workouts and slowing the progress toward a leaner body.
Decreased Metabolic Rate
Sleep has a significant influence on the body’s energy production processes, which is also known as metabolism. According to research, the metabolic slowdown will hinder weight loss even if you eat well and exercise regularly.
Another common problem with lower metabolism and poor sleep is that it can lead to type 2 diabetes. Research has proven that the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 14% for every hour of sleep lost per night.
Higher Potential for Late Night Snacking
It’s pretty common amongst the “youngsters” to stay up late at night, which might lead to mindless snacking, especially on high-calorie food. This habit could only sabotage efforts to maintain a calorie deficit when following a weight loss program, making life even harder!
Lack Of Sleep Hinders Mood And Motivation
Sleep also plays crucial role in emotional regulation. Sufficient sleep can help improve memory in processing both positive and negative emotions.
Research from over 90 studies shows that a lack of sleep can cause short-term emotional and mental problems, like mood swings. Over time, this can lead to depression or stress-related issues, often making people lose interest in things like exercise.
Poor Sleep Linked With Emotional Eating
Have you heard of the term’ stress eating’? That’s not a myth, it is actually true. Sleep and mental health of a person are closely linked. Lack of sleep increases stress, anxiety, and depression. When a person feels mentally drained, it’s easy to turn to food to cope with the stress. This emotional eating can lead to weight gain and lower a person’s energy levels.
Impact on Fat Storage Due To Disrupted Circadian Rhythms
The body’s internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, regulates the sleep-wake cycles. Disruption to this rhythm, such as irregular bedtimes, can lower the body’s ability to burn and store fat during the day at night. Consistent sleep helps maintain this balance, ensuring your body burns fat more efficiently and maintains a healthy weight.
Simple Habits to Get Quality Sleep
For some of us, getting quality sleep is a challenge. Here are some quick tips to help you with it.
- Stick to a regular sleep routine and try to sleep in a dark room. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day helps your body’s metabolism stay on track.
- Avoid late-night dinners and snacks. Eating too close to bedtime can interfere with the weight loss efforts.
- Reduce stress. Ongoing stress can affect your weight and it can also lead sleep-related issues such as insomnia. Find ways to relax, such as yoga or meditation, to put your mind and body at ease.
- Wake up early. Waking up early will help you go to sleep earlier, making sure that the clogs in the machine that is your body work efficiently and avoid unnecessary late-night snacking.
Conclusion
If you have been struggling with weight loss despite eating healthy and exercising regularly, it’s time to look closer at your sleep routine. Understanding the profound connection between weight loss and sleep is a game-changer. Getting quality sleep is not just a luxury but a necessity. It reduces stress, manages hormones, boosts metabolism, and, most of all, assists in maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle!
