How a Good Night's Sleep is Essential to Any Weight Loss Plan

How was your sleep last night? If you're one of the many who have weight problems, there's a good chance you also have sleep problems. Most people don't know that a connection between sleep and weight loss exists, but getting a good night's sleep should be an essential part of any weight loss strategy. In this article, you'll discover how bad sleep can have a detrimental effect on your weight loss goals and how good sleep helps you lose weight.

Our level of sleep affects the hormones in the body that control appetite called leptin and grehlin. Leptin suppresses your appetite while grehlin increases it (Sleep Aid Center, Sleep and Weight Loss Connection: Lose weight while you sleep, 2008). The University of Chicago conducted a study where 12 men received only four hours of sleep for two nights straight and they followed that up with 10 hours of sleep per night for two nights. By keeping track of their hormone and appetite levels at various points, the researchers reported that the men's leptin levels went down 18% during the first two nights while their grehlin levels increased by 28% during the last two nights. The subjects themselves reported increased appetites (by as much as 45%), especially for foods high in calories such as cookies, bread, and ice cream (Docshop, Struggling to Control Your Appetite? Try Getting More Sleep, 2008).

In another study at the University of Stanford, 1,000 subjects also had their hormones levels and weight recorded throughout the experiment and reported similar symptoms. Those who slept less than eight hours per night had lower leptin and higher grehlin levels and higher body fat. This recent research shows that people who sleep fewer hours have a greater appetite than those who sleep more, which typically leads to a higher body mass index (BMI). In other words, those who sleep less weight more.

But how does getting better sleep specifically help with weight loss? With enough sleep, you'll feel more awake and more likely to move around more instead of staying sedentary. Having sufficient sleep gives you energy to not only work out harder but also work out longer.

Plenty of sleep also helps prevent slow metabolism. It allows body tissue to repair and instigates cell growth which will increase your ability to metabolism carbohydrates and help you burn more calories (QAFC, Get More Sleep and Lose Weight, 2007). Try to get eight hours of sleep a night to help you lose weight.

In conclusion, if you're having trouble sleeping, you can visit a doctor to discuss how you can get into a normal sleeping pattern. You may have a specific sleeping condition that needs to be diagnosed. You can also develop nightly routines to help you get into the habit of going to bed early enough to get your eight hours of sleep, such as: brushing your teeth, winding down the day by reading a book instead of watching television, or listening to relaxing music. Whatever activity you choose to do on a regular basis, it will signal to your body that it's time for bed and make it easier for your body to follow that advice.

Websites Cited

Struggling to Control Your Appetite? Try Getting More Sleep

http://www.docshop.com/2008/03/14/struggling-to-control-your-appetite-try-getting-more-sleep/

Sleep and Weight Loss Connection: Lose weight while you sleep

http://www.sleep-aid-center.com/sleep-and-weight-loss-connection-lose-weight-while-you-sleep/

Get More Sleep and Lose Weight

http://www.qfac.com/articles/matthews/gary_matthews_10.html