Is this the ultimate weight-loss secret?
Is this the ultimate weight-loss secret? The key to shifting the pounds could be as simple as getting a good night’s kip. We love an easy peasy weight loss secret!
More ghrelin and less leptin makes you eat more, and leads to weight gain.
Along with irritability and post-noon crashes, lack of sleep can also encourage your body to hold onto your fat reserves. Great!
Why does sleep deprivation lead to weight gain?
Ghrelin and leptin are the two hormones that control your weight. Ghrelin increases appetite and leptin suppresses it. Sleep loss leads to increased ghrelin and decreased leptin. More ghrelin and less leptin makes you eat more, and leads to weight gain.
Research by the University of Chicago found that people who are sleep deprived lose less fat than those who get enough sleep. Sleep restriction was found to be accompanied by a pattern of increased hunger and reduced oxidation of fat. So getting your eight hours’ really is crucial for keeping the pounds off.
Sleep decreases stress and lowers cortisol
Cortisol, commonly known as the stress hormone, is the villain behind obesity. Your cortisol levels are controlled by your circadian rhythm, and are supposed to naturally decline immediately after breakfast. When you don’t get enough sleep, they remained elevated throughout the day, meaning your body stores even more fat.
Sleep increases lean muscle mass
Sleep deprivation impacts the ability of your body to create and restore muscles after a workout. The less muscles you have the less calories you burn, because muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells. Get some sleep to facilitate muscle growth.
Sleep deprivation can cause insulin resistance
Insulin plays a critical role in ensuring that whatever you eat is burned by the body for energy. A study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that sleep deprivation impairs the ability of fat cells to respond to insulin. Insulin resistance reduces the sensitivity of your cell walls to insulin, thereby impeding the conversion of glucose to energy. This results in excess glucose remaining in the bloodstream, which is then sent to the liver. The liver converts the sugar into fat and sends it back to the bloodstream, which stores the fat in different parts of the body.
Getting enough sleep can get all these physiological processes back on track to help you lose fat and maintain a healthy weight.
