The Link Between Sleep and Weight Management

Getting a good night’s rest is helpful to anyone and everyone. Proper sleep affects both our physical and mental health daily; your performance during the day is heavily influenced by the amount of sleep you get the night before. Sleep is particularly influential on your weight because it’s essential to regulating the hormones that affect hunger and appetite. Although researchers are still deciphering the exact link between sleep and weight, several links have emerged that highlight the potential weight loss benefits of getting a good night’s rest and the negative health impacts of sleep deprivation.

1. Sleep is a key component of weight loss; it can influence hunger and satiety, energy production, and motivation for physical activity. Similarly, there’s a connection between lack of sleep and weight gain. New research from Mayo Clinic shows that lack of sufficient sleep combined with free access to food increases calorie consumption and consequently fat accumulation, especially unhealthy fat inside the belly.

2. Sleep deprivation causes an increase in appetite, often for unhealthy food choices, and decreases a person's metabolism, which means an increase in fat storage and weight gain.

3. Sleep is essential to regulating the hormones that affect hunger and appetite, too. Insufficient sleep is associated with higher levels of the hormone ghrelin, which increases appetite, and lower levels of the hormone leptin, which leads to feeling less full. This sets people up to gain weight. By contrast, sleeping more could alter these hormones and bring them back to balance.

4. Poor sleep can also lower your metabolism, making it harder to burn calories. Too little sleep triggers your body to release cortisol, the stress hormone. This signals your body to conserve energy to fuel your waking hours and makes you hang on to fat.

Sleep can affect weight management in a number of ways, including:

· Caloric intake: People who get more sleep may reduce their caloric intake by an average of 270 calories per day. Sleep deprivation can also increase caloric intake by leading to late-night snacking, larger portion sizes, and more time available to eat.

· Appetite: Sleep’s impact on appetite is clear: sleep-deprived people may have a larger appetite and eat more.

· Physical activity: Lack of sleep can cause fatigue, which can make people less motivated to exercise.

· Self-control: Sleep deprivation can also affect self-control around portion sizes.

As you can see, there is a distinct connection between sleep health and weight change. Sleep is a fundamental component of well-being, and a lack of it can make maintaining a moderate weight more difficult. Establishing healthy sleep habits can support your weight loss efforts. An adequate sleep schedule of seven to nine hours per night can maintain physical, emotional, and mental health, and help you to maintain a healthy weight.