The Surprising Link between Sleep & Fat Loss: Fact You Never Knew
Monday, October 19th, 2009
An adequate amount of sleep is extremely important in fat burning & weight loss.
The amount of sleep you regularly gethas a profound influence on your hormones. The data available with the National Sleep Foundation reveals over 63% of the Americans manage less than 8 hours of sleep regularly. The conclusion of this data is the majority of us are deprived of adequate rest. The impact is profound for those struggling to lose that extra flab.
Vital Weight Control Hormones,
Fat Burning & Sleep Loss: What You Never Knew
There are key hormones that regulate your appetite that over time become altered with lack of sleep. Ghrelin increases our appetite and leptin transmits to your brain, your stomach is full and decreases your appetite.
When your body is deprived of adequate sleep the secretion of the “full hormone” leptin falls. Simultaneously there is a rise in the “appetite hormone” ghrelin.
The body fails to actively metabolize the carbohydrate content of your diet and inadequate sleep negatively impacts the metabolic system of your body. As a result glucose content rises in your blood which in turn leads to a higher
insulin level which directly impacts fat levels and fat burning is negated.
As you learned in earlier post – as leptin levels drop your body begins to crave more carbohydrates and the vicious cycle begins. Weight gain is just one dangerous result of this cycle.
The Growth Hormone and Sleep
The body secretes a growth hormone that’s main function is to regulate the ideal proportion of fat and muscle in your body. The time during which this growth hormone is produced is night. Inadequate sleep reduces this production and secretion.
It is easy to see how lack of sleep can make it difficult to assist fat burning and losing weight. Not only do the
chemical process in your body make it more difficult when you’re tired and fatigued you’re less likely to eat right and engage in exercise.
Adequate sleep is an often overlooked essential factor in effective fat burning and weight loss. It is difficult to
determine a certain number of hours as a universal requirement. Numerous factors like age, sex, and predominant mode of activity help to determine how much sleep is ideally required by an individual.
On an average seven to nine hours of sleep is considered optimal. This needs to be restful sleep. Watching TV in bed and
falling asleep in front of the TV don’t promote the deep sleep we need.
Here are a few suggestions to help you deepen the quality of your sleep:
-
Stressful activity in the evening must be avoided. Consider reading a book or listening to soothing music before bed.
-
Engage in a regular bedtime routine to signal the body that it’s time to sleep.
-
Drink aherbal relaxing tea an hour or two before bedtime.
-
Products that contain caffeine such as coffee should be avoided. Similarly alcohol and tobacco can also affect the quality of sleep.
-
Dinner and exercise should be at least three hours before retiring to bed.