How Lack of Sleep Can Affect Your Weight

By our Contributing Author*

Beyond just helping us feel rested, sleep plays a vital role in many aspects of our health, including how we control our weight.

Although a lot of people are aware of how diet and exercise directly affect weight, the importance of sleep is frequently overlooked.

New studies, however, highlight the significant impact that sleep deprivation has on metabolism and body weight.

Sleep deprivation effects are multifaceted, extending beyond drowsiness and fatigue.

More and more research is connecting sleep deprivation to changes in appetite control, hormone balance, and metabolism—all of which may lead to weight gain.

A lack of sleep can cause a number of physiological alterations that affect our energy expenditure and food preferences.

One of the apparent outcomes of inadequate sleep is weight gain sleep.

A greater chance of gaining weight has been linked to shorter sleep duration, according to mounds of research.

Hormones that regulate appetite, such as ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger) and leptin (a hormone that indicates fullness), are frequently altered in sleep-deprived people, which may cause overeating and weight gain.

Sleep loss and weight aren’t just linked through hormonal changes. They also impact dietary preferences.

According to research, people who don’t get enough sleep often have a craving for items heavy in calories and carbohydrates.

Furthermore, insufficient sleep can lead to exhaustion and low energy, which can lower motivation for physical exercise and further affect weight management.

The association between lack of sleep obesity has become a growing concern.

So studies state that getting too little sleep can interfere with the body’s capacity to control glucose levels, which can result in insulin resistance, which is a risk factor for obesity and other metabolic diseases.

Without addressing sleep patterns, the bidirectional association between fat and sleep deprivation might be difficult to break.

As you can see, recognizing how sleep affects weight is crucial for managing health holistically. The sleep impact on weight is a culmination of various factors that extend beyond simple calorie intake and physical activity.

Sleep is essential for controlling hunger, metabolism, and energy balance, and understanding how sleep and weight are intricately related is essential to comprehending how our lifestyle decisions might affect our general health.

Making sleep a priority and aiming for the 7-9 hours of sleep each night (that are advised for adults) can have a favorable impact on weight regulation and enhance general well-being.

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Citations:

1. Taheri, S., Lin, L., Austin, D., Young, T., & Mignot, E. (2004). Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin, and Increased Body Mass Index. PLOS Medicine, 1(3), e62.
2. Cappuccio, F. P., Taggart, F. M., Kandala, N. B., Currie, A., Peile, E., Stranges, S., & Miller, M. A. (2008). Meta-Analysis of Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults. Sleep, 31(5), 619-626.