Have you ever asked why sleep is important for weight loss? Whenever it comes to losing weight, nutrition and exercise are typically regarded as the two most significant elements. Nonetheless, sleep is an often-overlooked lifestyle element that also has a significant impact.
The ideal amount of sleep for adults generally is seven to nine hours each night, although many people sleep far less. Sleeping less than the recommended amount is linked to having more body fat and a higher chance of being obese. It can also make it harder to lose weight on a healthy diet.
Usually, the objective of weight loss is to reduce body fat while maintaining as much muscle mass as feasible. When on a low-calorie diet, not getting enough sleep can affect both how much fat you lose and how much muscle mass you keep.
One research showed that sleeping between 5 and 6 hours per night while on a nutrient diet for two weeks resulted in less fat reduction than sleeping between 8 and 9 hours per night. However, it also led to a larger loss of lean muscle mass (including muscle).
In another study, over the course of eight weeks, a reduction of one hour of sleep per night, five nights per week, showed comparable benefits. As these findings show, even catching up on sleep on the weekends may not be enough to make up for the bad effects of not getting enough sleep when on a calorie-controlled diet.
The main reasons why sleep is important for weight loss
There are various reasons why a shorter sleep duration may be connected with a higher body mass index and hinder weight loss efforts. These include metabolic, appetite, and dietary modifications.
Leptin and ghrelin are two major hunger hormones that are affected by sleep. Leptin is an appetite-suppressing hormone, so (thus) when leptin levels go up, we often feel full. On the other hand, ghrelin is a hormone that makes you hungry. It is often called the “hunger hormone” because it is thought to be what makes you feel hungry.
According to one study, sleep restriction raises ghrelin levels and reduces leptin levels. Another research with a sample group of 1,024 people indicated that short sleep was related to elevated ghrelin and decreased leptin levels.
This combination may increase a person’s appetite, making it more challenging to stick to calorie restrictions and may make them more prone to overeating. Changes in hunger hormones can increase food consumption, which may result in excess weight.
This suggests that, because of these shifts in hunger, sleep deprivation may result in weight gain over time. Therefore, obtaining a good night’s rest should be a top priority.
In addition to changes in hunger hormones, sleep deprivation has been proven to affect meal choices and how the brain interprets food. The regions of the brain responsible for dopamine are more active in reaction to food after sleep deprivation (six nights of just four hours of sleep) than after adequate sleep (six nights of nine to ten hours of sleep).
This may explain why people who don’t get enough sleep, eat more often and like sweet, carbohydrate-rich foods more than people who get enough sleep.
Additionally, sleep duration affects metabolism, specifically glucose (sugar) metabolism. When we consume meals, our bodies secrete insulin, a hormone that aids in the processing of glucose in the blood.
However, lack of sleep can disrupt the body’s insulin response, limiting its capacity to absorb glucose. We could be able to bounce back from the periodic night of sleep deprivation, but chronic sleep deprivation can lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity.
I think that a single night of insufficient sleep (let’s say, four hours of sleep) is sufficient to alter the insulin release to glucose ingestion in young men in good health.
People who don’t get enough sleep might be more likely to choose high-glucose meals because they are more hungry and looking for rewards. This could be because they are less able to metabolize glucose.
A surplus of glucose might be metabolized to fatty acids and accumulated as fat (due to both higher consumption and a diminished capacity to absorb glucose into tissues). Long-term accumulation of these factors might result in weight gain.
However, physical exercise may contribute as a remedy for the negative effects of inadequate sleep. By decreasing ghrelin levels and boosting peptide YY levels, exercise has a good effect on hunger. Peptide YY is a hormone that is secreted by the stomach and is related to the sense of being pleased and full.
Related: Can you lose weight with a treadmill?
People prefer to eat less after exercise, especially when the energy used during activity is included. It is uncertain, however, if this still holds true in the setting of sleep limitation.
Also, research shows that exercise may protect against the metabolic problems caused by not getting enough sleep by improving the body’s response to insulin, which leads to better control of glucose.
Also, you can read: Best tips for beginner treadmill workout for weight loss
I have also discussed the potential advantages of a single intense workout on glucose metabolism following sleep restriction. Even though this is good news, more research is needed to figure out how long-term exercise helps people who have trouble sleeping.
Conclusion
It is evident why sleep is important for weight loss. Lack of sleep can make us feel hungrier by changing our hormone levels. It can also make us more likely to eat unhealthy foods and change how our bodies get rid of fat when we count calories. As a part of a healthy lifestyle, sleep should be regarded as a need alongside food and physical exercise.