Getting enough sleep is crucial to losing weight. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body is stressed out and releases a hormone called cortisol. This hormone leads to weight gain indirectly. What most people fail to realize is that being constantly deprived of sleep will take a toll on your health in the long run. Research has shown that people who have less sleep eat more, feel hungrier and generally consume 350 calories more than required. Those who stay awake late often find themselves consuming snacks and heavy meals often.
Your body’s insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance levels will drop. This is bad since your body will go into fat storage mode instead of being in fat burning mode. When your insulin sensitivity is down, you will store fat much more easily. The same applies for glucose tolerance. Lack of sleep also increases the body’s stress hormone, cortisol. Once again the body’s fat burning ability decreases or in a worst case scenario, just completely stops.
If you’re eating on a caloric deficit and training daily, your body is already stressed out. It needs sleep to rest and repair itself. Not to mention de-stress. There is a reason it is referred to as “beauty sleep”. All the best attempts at losing weight will be hampered if you can’t afford to get enough sleep at night. Power naps during the day will not cut it. You need sleep at night for at least 7 hours. Most people claim to get by on less. They may… but at a price to their health in the long run. Aim to be more productive so that you get more work done in the office and don’t have to stay late. Stop watching late night TV and do not work out too close to bedtime. Ideally, you should be working out in the day.
Try and meditate to free your mind from the daily stresses of life. Remember, even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat. There is more to life than deadlines, targets and appraisals. Get enough sleep and you will find it much easier to shed the fat. The power of a good night’s sleep should never be underestimated. Do ensure that you’re getting at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep daily. Don’t burn the candle at both ends when you’re on a weight loss journey.
