SLEEP: ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Sleep is one of the most important things our body needs. It’s the only time you give your body and mind the rest it needs. In today’s ever-dynamic world you’re always on the move or doing something all the time. Keeping yourself stimulated is always a good thing but what’s more important is giving yourself the rest you need so that you can recover and always be ready to go again. That’s where getting good sleep comes in.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about why sleep is important for general health and its role in weight gain/loss.
How Does Sleep Deprivation Lead to Weight Gain?
#1 – It Disrupts Balance Of Key Hormones That Control Your Appetite
People who generally get low sleep tend to have low levels of Ghrelin & Leptin. These are the key hormones that give you hunger signals and shape your appetite. Ghrelin levels decrease at night as you don’t need to generate energy while sleeping and leptin levels increase in order to dampen the hunger signals.
When you’re sleep deprived, what happens is there is an increase in the amount of ghrelin and a simultaneous decrease in leptin levels which fools the body into thinking that it is constantly hungry and you end up eating more food.
#2 – Increase In Stress Levels
When you feel stressed you tend to eat more. Being sleep-deprived can cause unnecessary stress. When this happens, the levels of cortisol or the stress hormone causes water retention and increases your appetite. When levels of cortisol increases the body tends to produce serotonin to calm you down and this happens by binging on high fat, high carb foods.
#3 – Lower Metabolism
As a result of low sleep, your body tends to be as inactive as possible because of low energy levels. Therefore, the body would burn lower calories and hence have low metabolism.
The ideal amount of sleep that one needs differs for various age groups. For an average adult somewhere between 7 – 9 hours of sleep daily is recommended by experts.
How Do You Ensure You Get A Good Night’s Sleep?
Avoid caffeine or caffeinated drinks 5 hours before sleep.
Make sure you don’t look at electronic screens at least an hour before you sleep.
Have an early dinner so your system doesn’t have to work while you try sleeping
Avoid any intense exercise late at night.
Drink enough water throughout the day so that you’re not dehydrated while trying to fall asleep.
These are a few reasons why sleep is important. Being sleep deprived can cause malice to not only your physical health but your mental well-being as well. So, make sure that you condition yourself in such a way that you get a good night’s sleep every night.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about why sleep is important for general health and its role in weight gain/loss.
How Does Sleep Deprivation Lead to Weight Gain?
#1 – It Disrupts Balance Of Key Hormones That Control Your Appetite
People who generally get low sleep tend to have low levels of Ghrelin & Leptin. These are the key hormones that give you hunger signals and shape your appetite. Ghrelin levels decrease at night as you don’t need to generate energy while sleeping and leptin levels increase in order to dampen the hunger signals.
When you’re sleep deprived, what happens is there is an increase in the amount of ghrelin and a simultaneous decrease in leptin levels which fools the body into thinking that it is constantly hungry and you end up eating more food.
#2 – Increase In Stress Levels
When you feel stressed you tend to eat more. Being sleep-deprived can cause unnecessary stress. When this happens, the levels of cortisol or the stress hormone causes water retention and increases your appetite. When levels of cortisol increases the body tends to produce serotonin to calm you down and this happens by binging on high fat, high carb foods.
#3 – Lower Metabolism
As a result of low sleep, your body tends to be as inactive as possible because of low energy levels. Therefore, the body would burn lower calories and hence have low metabolism.
The ideal amount of sleep that one needs differs for various age groups. For an average adult somewhere between 7 – 9 hours of sleep daily is recommended by experts.
How Do You Ensure You Get A Good Night’s Sleep?
Avoid caffeine or caffeinated drinks 5 hours before sleep.
Make sure you don’t look at electronic screens at least an hour before you sleep.
Have an early dinner so your system doesn’t have to work while you try sleeping
Avoid any intense exercise late at night.
Drink enough water throughout the day so that you’re not dehydrated while trying to fall asleep.
These are a few reasons why sleep is important. Being sleep deprived can cause malice to not only your physical health but your mental well-being as well. So, make sure that you condition yourself in such a way that you get a good night’s sleep every night.