The amount of sleep you receive may be just as essential as the amount of exercise you do and the foods you eat. If you don’t get the sleep your body needs, your brain will go for energy in other places, such as high-calorie foods and sugars. Your appetite is controlled by two hormones, one of which is known as the hunger hormone (ghrelin) and the other as the fullness hormone (ghrelin) (leptin). These two friends are supposed to help you control your urges, but lack of sleep throws them off. Here are 5 Reasons Why Sleep Is Important for Fat Loss as well as what you can do to aid yourself along the way.
5 Reasons Why Sleep Is Important for Fat Loss
- A lack of sleep can increase appetite and increase the risk of obesity.
Hormones are involved in food and sleep control, which is why when you sleep less, your hormones are disrupted. This, in turn, can make you crave high-calorie items, even if you just finished a meal an hour ago.
What you should do is:
- Sleep in a dark room – when you’re exposed to light, it’s more difficult to fall and stay asleep, and you’re more likely to gain weight.
- Relax and don’t overthink things; this can lead to poor sleep and weight gain.
- Go to bed early – if you stay up late, you will consume more calories.
- Getting a good night’s sleep prevents late-night snacking.
When we eat late-night snacks, our metabolism keeps working when it should be resting, causing the calories we consume to be stored as fat. It may also make it difficult for us to get a decent night’s sleep. A low-calorie snack, on the other hand, may not be harmful.
What you should do is:
- 2 hours before bedtime, eat dinner.
- Eat plenty throughout the day to prevent nighttime cravings.
- Don’t consume sugary meals if you’re really hungry after supper. Grab some fruit, low-fat yoghurt, or carrots instead.
- Sleeping can help you get more exercise.
You must be totally rested in order to gain energy for exercise, and when you are fully rested, your body produces growth hormone, which causes your muscles to grow. The growth hormone is normally triggered during sleep, but if you don’t get enough sleep, it will be inhibited, reducing your ability to burn fat.
It’s also risky to exercise while we’re weary, especially if we’re lifting weights. Growth hormone aids in the speeding up of the healing process after an accident, which is why it’s critical to get enough rest.
- Sleep can help to reduce sugar cravings.
If you’re craving sweets after a long day at work, it’s not surprising. Sleep deprivation and food cravings are actually adversaries, as a lack of sleep generates an imbalance in appetite-regulating hormones, which leads to weight gain.
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What you should do is:
- Instead of eating sugar for energy, sleep for it.
- Increase your sleep time by one hour to help you make healthier food choices.
- Getting more sleep may help you avoid gaining weight.
Short periods of sleep, such as 6-7 hours a night, have been linked to weight growth. It could lead to a larger waistline and increased belly fat in particular. This happens not only to adults, but also to children, particularly in their middle childhood years (6-8 years old).
What you should do is:
- Each night, get 7-9 hours of sleep.
How many hours do you get to sleep each night? What lifestyle adjustments would you like to make in order to lose weight?
