Sleep and Weight Loss: How Lack of Sleep Causes Weight Gain

Does lack of sleep cause weight gain? Read on…

Most of us pay little attention to the amount of quality sleep we get each night, but alongside it being a relaxing end of the day activity, getting the right amount of sleep is vital to your health and can even aid in weight loss.

More sleep might seem like an unlikely recipe for a svelte figure, after all sitting around actually leads to being overweight in the first place. However, studies show that a good night’s sleep can help us control our eating patterns.

Research has shown that women who sleep 5 hours or less each night have a generally higher weight than those who sleep 7 hours a night. This is due to the effect that sleep has on hunger hormones. The hormone which controls our appetite and speeds up our body’s metabolism is called Leptin; when there is a lack of sleep, Leptin is produced in less quantity. The hormone which encourages appetite, called Ghrelin, is produced in a higher quantity when you are not getting enough sleep–the two imbalanced hormones then lead you to want to eat more in the waking day.

In Japan a sleep study was conducted on 6 and 7 year old children, comparing the health of children who got 9-10 hours’ sleep and those who got 8-9 hours’ sleep. Even with this small difference in nightly sleep, the former group was twice as likely to have a healthy body weight.

As well as the havoc that a lack of sleep can play on our hunger hormones, it can also cause an increase in insulin levels–this is known as insulin resistance. Insulin not only controls blood sugar but it promotes the storage of fat and so extra insulin can make losing weight extremely difficult.

Sleep is essential to our general well-being too and when you feel healthier and happier by day you’re likely to stick to a healthy diet. Those who have sleep deprivation, however mild, can have a low mood or even depression. This negative feeling is often improved by comfort eating and choosing appealing foots which have refined carbohydrates. It’s easy to have too many calories when you’re not getting enough sleep, and being naturally tired from not enough rest, exercising to make up for this is hard.

Although a full 8 hours of sleep is recommended a night, if you can get even an hour or 2 more than you’re currently getting, you will feel vast improvements in your well-being and energy levels–which can aid dieting challenges. If you don’t want to diet, getting more sleep will give you the boost of energy you need to keep active each day and start shedding extra pounds.

Not sure how to improve your sleep quality? Try winding down well in advance of bedtime. This means turning off the TV, having a calming milky drink and spending some time preparing for sleep. Is your mattress comfortable? If your mattress is not supporting your body properly throughout the night you may be tossing and turning without realizing, meaning you’re unable to reach the deep stages of sleep. A good mattress is essential to a good night’s sleep.

This article was brought to you by Mattress.co.uk providing information on the importance of a good night’s sleep. Click here to see their site.