Sleep May be the Key to Successful Weight Loss
Amazing as it may sound, sleep may be the missing link to achieving your weight loss goal. The importance of a good night’s sleep is discounted by many people, yet the impact on overall health and body weight cannot be underestimated. The body performs many critical functions while we sleep that assist our immune response, guide cellular restructuring as well as fat metabolism and weight loss maintenance.
Sleep Essential to Burning Fat
Insufficient sleep causes a disruption of the appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin which direct fat metabolism. When these hormones become resistant to cues from the brain due to dietary abuse or lack of deep sleep, fat is not released efficiently and remains stored as excess weight in the body.
The results of a study published in the journal Sleep, reveal that teenagers who received less than 8 hours of sleep per night consumed 2.2% more dietary fat on average. Since fat is densely packed with calories, this leads to weight gain over time.
Young Children at Risk for Obesity with Insufficient Sleep
Young children require even more sleep than teens and adults, and may be increasing their risk for weight problems and obesity in later life when they average less than 10 hours a night. This is according to a study published in the American Journal of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine which studied adolescents who received fewer than 10 hours of sleep each night, and found they were more than twice as likely to be overweight five years later, with some becoming obese as well.
Poor Sleep Disrupts Appetite Hormones in Adults
Insufficient or disrupted sleep causes levels of the critical appetite hormones, leptin and ghrelin to fluctuate leading to increased hunger. Normally, leptin signals the brain when you’ve had enough and it’s time to stop eating. Conversely, ghrelin sends the cue that you’re hungry and ready to eat. In studies where sleep was deprived and subjects received less than 7 hours per night, leptin levels dropped and ghrelin rose, resulting in the urge to overeat.
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