Can Sleep Really Help me Lose Weight
It may seem odd to think that getting more sleep might help you lose weight but there are some good reasons why this might be the case. But first, let’s talk about sleep and how to get enough of it
The Basics of Sleep
First off let’s cover what constitutes a good nights sleep and how you can set yourself up to get that
A good night’s sleep is made up of enough time for your body to rest and allowing time for the brain to be in the various stages of sleep but the science of this is not settled and the topic and experience remain highly subjective. You could real the National Sleep Foundations recommendations on sleep quality but given the subjective nature, you will need to find what is right for you and your body and circumstance.
When it comes to the various stages this is not settled science and in fact, Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep was not discovered until 1953. This is the point during sleep when we have the most vivid dreams and importantly is associated with an internal paralysis of muscles. Common legend suggests you must have and cannot do without REM sleep but recent work suggests this may not be entirely true and we also believe that it is the combination of NREM (non REM sleep that may be dreamless) and REM sleep that is important. Getting enough of each requires you to sleep long enough as it takes time to transition between these two stages.
And a quick word on sleep wrist-worn sleep trackers or actigraphs and their ability to give you data – this study: Determinants of perceived sleep quality in normal sleepers showed only modest relationship with actual sleep restfulness
the relationship between the actigraphy-based sleep characteristics and the perceived sleep quality was only modest
So the lesson here is don’t rely to heavily on tracking data to determine your sleep quality
Getting Enough Sleep
I have talked about this before: Sleep the Wonder Drug, Help Getting a Good Nights Sleep, and Daylight Saving Time and Accidents. All have good incremental suggestion on how to approach getting a better nights sleep including a link to a sleep hygiene protocol you can use to help but in short include at least these steps
- Having the Right Temperature
- Develop a good set of Habit that you make Routine every night
- Light is the enemy of a good nights sleep
- Words on Food and Drink (and Drugs and Alcohol)
Why You Lose Weight with a Good Nights Sleep
It may seem counter-intuitive but getting that good night’s sleep is part of your overall health and helpful in managing your weight. Here are some of the reasons why a good nights sleep helps you lose weight
- Lack of sleep can have a similar effect as being drunk leaving your brain fogged and set up to make poor decisions. Choosing not to eat that candy bar or packets of Chips becomes harder
- When your brain is over tired it revs up the pleasure sensors seeking out something that feels good – while there are plenty of healthy options many that are oftentimes easier to access are not including carbohydrate packed snacks, chocolate and sugary snacks
- Lack of sleep (and especially Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA and other sleep disorders) triggers stress in our bodies that stimulates the production of Cortisol at night telling the body to conserve fat
- Lack of sleep messes with your bodies insulin management and control systems and the hormone central to managing fats and when you can’t process these molecules in your bloodstream correctly they end up getting put into your fat deposit
- Being tired also hampers your desire and ability to get going especially to exercise so you end up not
So perhaps the next time you wonder when you should go to bed you will think about the range of benefits to be had from a good nights sleep, drop the candy bar and head to bed just that little bit earlier
