Why is sleep so important for weight loss?
“While there’s plenty of data showing that poor sleep can lead to weight gain and possibly even obesity, some new research also shows that the opposite may also be true: that getting the right amount of good quality sleep may actually help you shed a few pounds.” (Time.com)
I recently read “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker. The main gist of the book is “sleep is the secret sauce to basically everything” and there are many fascinating studies he details out (ok yes it gets a little science-y!). But of course I was especially intrigued by his findings on the impact of sleep of our body weight.
Getting a full night of sleep is one of the most under-appreciated factors contributing to healthy weight maintenance. –Matthew Walker
He continues: “Perhaps you have also noticed a desire to eat more when you’re tired? This is no coincidence. Too little sleep swells concentrations of a hormone [ghrelin] that makes you feel hungry while suppressing a companion hormone [leptin] that other-wise signals food satisfaction. Despite being full, you still want to eat more. It’s a proven recipe for weight gain in sleep-deficient adults. Worse, should you attempt to diet but don’t get enough sleep while doing so, it is futile, since most of the weight you lose will come from lean body mass, not fat. . . The less you sleep, the more you are likely to eat.”
The take home of this competing hormone problem is this: if you are short sleeping, you won’t feel as satisfied by food.
Another way to think about this is when our bodies get really tired, what we want is sleep. But if we can’t get sleep, the next thing our body will try is saying “hey how about some energy from food!” Your body releases that hormone ghrelin to tell you to eat. Basically if we can’t recharge through sleep, it opts for the next best thing for a boost–extra food.
You need about 8 hours sleep. Some can get away with less. Regardless of what is optimum for you, without enough sleep you will be inhibiting your weight loss goals.
What’s keeping you from sleeping?
Here’s a few ways I can help with some of the common issues:
- I coach on anxiety–are you awake half the night with your brain going like gangbusters? Worry after worry coming up for you? Let’s attack the anxiety head on to relax your brain at night.
- I coach on time–do you believe you don’t have time to get more sleep in? This is usually an issue of mismanaging your mind around time. Time is not the issue, nor is “time management.” We only need to manage ourselves and thoughts about time. You definitely have time for sleep.
- I coach on buffering–what are you filling your evenings with that is making you avoid going to bed? Usually it’s buffering type behaviors such as over use of TV, electronics, social media or food.
- I coach on your eating and your body–what are you eating or drinking that’s causing you to have digestive symptoms preventing sleep? I have clients that sleep better after solving their food sensitivity issues so they no longer have heartburn or gas and they aren’t overly full–resulting in a much better quality of sleep.
Schedule a free chat with me and I’ll give you some actionable coaching tools to help.
