There are many aspects of weight loss that contribute to losing weight and keeping it off. Getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and drinking enough water are some of them, and so is getting enough sleep.
It may seem unlikely that just sitting around, not burning off many of those calories you ate all day, can help. The secret is that it’s not just how much you eat, but what your body does with it that controls weight gain and weight loss.
Sleep Affects Hormones That Influence Weight
There are several hormones that influence what we eat and what our body does with the food once we eat it. Ghrelin is sometimes called the “hunger hormone” because it’s a hormone that stimulates our body to want to eat. It is released primarily in the stomach when there’s little or no food there, and it travels to the brain where it triggers hunger.
Leptin is a hormone released by fat cells that tells your body it doesn’t need to eat because you’ve got a reserve built up.
Studies have shown that people who sleep less than 6 hours have higher levels of ghrelin and lower levels of leptin than those who get a full night’s sleep.
Sleep Affects Your Healthy Lifestyle
Getting a full night’s sleep impact on weight loss efforts. People who don’t get a full night’s sleep have less energy to expend on exercise during the day. And think of the last time you didn’t get enough sleep at night—wasn’t it a lot more tempting to skip your morning run or visit to the gym.
In addition, people who don’t sleep enough are more susceptible to all forms of temptation, including food temptation. It’s a lot harder to stay on your diet when your brain doesn’t have the energy it needs to stand up to the simple cravings that promise revival in the form of a sugar rush.
Besides, if you stay up late at night, there’s always the temptation to grab an extra meal—heck, Taco Bell made a whole ad campaign out of that!
So if you’re looking to help your weight loss efforts, getting a good night’s sleep impact on weight loss is a great place to start. But if you’re still not able to lose weight, perhaps you need professional help. To get counseling, guidance, and assistance from a weight loss doctor in Denver, please contact Med-Fit Medical Weight Loss Clinic.
