Have You Been Eating Right & Exercising and Are Still Not Losing Weight? A Lack of Sleep May Be the Reason.

Did you know that sleep restriction or loss can cause weight gain?

Studies have shown that sleep restriction is associated with a 24% higher likelihood of obesity.

Although this might seem counterintuitive, after all, you are awake longer which would indicate that you are expending more calories, even temporary sleep restriction can lead to weight gain.

This occurs because even though your energy use increases by about 5%, chronic sleep restriction is associated with an increase in food intake of approximately 6%. 

Sleep restriction is when you get less than 70% of the recommended sleep, which for adults is at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Chronic sleep restriction is when this pattern of sleep restriction is maintained over several days, months, and/or years (NASM). 

Chronic sleep restriction leads to weight gain in a variety of ways, but particularly because our hunger signals are prompted to do the exact opposite of what we want them to do. 

When you are getting less than 70% of the recommended sleep, studies have reported an associated decrease in leptin, a hormone that tells your brain when you feel full (NASM; Spiegel et al., 2004 a; Spiegel et al., 2004b). 

In addition, the production of ghrelin, a hormone that signals a spike in hunger, increases when sleep is restricted, causing you to snack more, especially on high-fat, high-carb foods. (NASM; Heath et al., 2012; Nedeltcheva et al., 2009; Spiegel et al., 2004 a; Spiegel et al., 2004b). 

On top of that, chronic sleep restriction causes:

• Decreased insulin sensitivity

• Increased insulin resistance

• Decreased glucose tolerance

• Increase cortisol levels in the evening 

This results in an increase in appetite, fatigue, and difficulty losing weight, especially since a jump in cortisol levels leads to eating more food, particularly high-sugar foods. 

In other words, it's the perfect storm for weight gain.

This is why sleeping eight hours a night is critical to maintaining losing weight and/or maintaining a healthy weight.

How to get more and better sleep

According to the NIH, here are some tips for getting better sleep.

• Exercise every day, but not close to bedtime.

• Limit the use of electronic devices before bedtime. Try reading a book, journaling, or another relaxing activity instead.

• Create a good sleeping environment. Make the room dark or use a sleep mask, keep the temperature cool at about 65 degrees, silence your phone, and eliminate sound and light distractions.

• Set a daily sleep schedule and bedtime routine, including on the weekends.

• Go outside daily and get at least 30 minutes of natural sunlight every day.

• Don’t take naps after mid-afternoon.

• Avoid caffeine for 6 hours before bedtime.

I recommend:

• Creating a nurturing sleep routine where you put on your face cream, body cream, dim the lights, put on a silky robe, etc.  Check out our Sleep Shop for more ideas.

• Turning on an essential oils lamp with lavender oil or other calming oil of your choice.

• Using a sleep mask. If you haven't used a sleep mask before, select a contoured mask to protect your eyelashes, and look for a nose contour that will fit snugly.

• Changing the settings on your phone, tablet, and computer so the night light turns on automatically at a set time. 

• Start dimming the lights about two hours before your bedtime to start signaling your body that it is time to go to sleep.
  

By understanding why sleep is important for your weight maintenance regime and knowing what steps you can take to get better sleep, you have what you need to make your sleep routine a sweet dream.