Sleep and Fat Loss: The Surprising Link Between Quality Sleep and Your Weight

 

Sleep Deprivation: The Enemy of Fat Loss

Sleep and fat loss are not a common connection that most dieters make when starting their journey.

When looking to lose fat most people dive into their food and fitness.  While this IS correct a huge percentage forget to take good care of their sleep hygiene to achieve their fat loss goals. 

Think of sleep as nutrition for the brain! When we are fatigued we are more likely to eat more and have cravings for foods that do not support our fat loss goals.

Sleep is a critical player in the fat loss game.

How Sleep Quality Affects Metabolism

Normally, during the night your fatty acid blood levels peak and then drop as the night goes on. That wasn’t the case for the sleep-deprived study participants. Their levels stayed high from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. – and while the fatty acid levels were high, their bodies’ ability to regulate blood sugar was lowered.

In fact, Researchers found participants in a study had pre-diabetic conditions, highlighting the link between sleep loss, insulin resistance, and increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

In addition, during sleep our body produces a valuable fat burning, age defying  hormone called Human Growth Hormone (HGH).  – Human growth hormone is a fat burning hormone AND helps the body produce collagen and elastin.  This is why we call it “getting our beauty sleep”

We used to produce this hormone readily before the age of 30 but not so much after that.  In fact, the only time we produce this hormone after the age of ~30 is when we sleep and during certain types of exercise.

Unfortunately, most perimenopausal and menopausal women have very disrupted sleep and need all the help they can get!  

Hormonal Harmony: Sleep’s Role in Regulating Appetite

Lack of sleep drives down the levels of leptin, a hormone produced in fat cells, which signals to the brain when you are full. When you have low levels of leptin, you won’t feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes levels of another hormone called ghrelin to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, creating the desire to eat more. Combined, these effects on leptin and ghrelin can lead to overeating, and subsequent weight gain.

In addition, poor sleep also causes your body to produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn spurs your appetite. High cortisol levels are associated with weight gain, particularly around the midsection.

When you sleep less, you burn less fat

Sleep deprivation leads to changes in glucose metabolism which will cause your body to store the calories you consume as fat rather than burning them for energy.

A sleep-deprived body burns fewer calories than a well-rested one. The body burns more calories during REM sleep than at any other time. Our body experiences longer periods of REM sleep as we move further into our sleep cycle over the course of a night. So by not sleeping enough you are cheating your body of the REM sleep that is prime calorie-burning time. Research shows that even if people still manage to lose weight whilst sleeping less, they are still losing less fat (and more muscle mass).

Strategies for Improving Sleep To Boost Fat Loss

• • Keep a gratitude log. This will create a positive and relaxed state of mind before you go to bed. Before you go so sleep, write down: 1) What am I thankful for today? 2) What did I learn today? 3) What am I proud of myself for doing today?  My Women’s Daily Success Journal will help you to organize your upcoming day so those thoughts can be put to rest before you fall asleep

• • Get to bed by 10 pm at the latest and aim for 7-9 hours of sleep

• • Increase your exercise level, but try not to exercise within 3 hours of bedtime

• • Don’t ingest caffeine or alcohol near your bedtime – caffeine can keep you awake and alcohol can disrupt the normal stages of your sleep.  Caffeine has a half life of 8 hours.  This means that you don’t want to consume caffeine within 8 hours of bedtime or it will be stimulating you and disrupting good sleep

• • Do some light stretching in the evenings to calm down an overly excited nervous system

• • Turn off overhead lights a few hours before bedtime. Let your body know it is time to wind down

• • Minimize electrical fields around your bed when you sleep by turning off and unplugging all electronics

• • Keep the clock away from your view. If you have difficulty falling asleep, watching the clock will only make it worse!

• • Sleep in as close to total blackness as possible using blackout blinds or a sleep mask if necessary. Even the smallest amount of light can disrupt your circadian rhythms and throw all those important fat burning hormones out of whack

• • Wear Blue Light blocking glasses to help eliminate “junk light” that interferes with sleep patterns

• • Take a quality magnesium supplement or have a relaxing epsom salt bath to put you into a state ready for sleep

• • Utilize some of nature’s most calming ingredients to help you nod off. Valerian root, Californian poppy, passion flower, l-theanine and lemon balm are particularly known for their positive effects on insomnia anxiety and stress

• • Use a pillow mist with essential oils to help you relax and slip into a restful sleep

• • Use earplugs – It is amazing how little sounds can wake you up and make it difficult for you to fall black to sleep.  These simple earplugs have been life changing for my sleep

My Secret Sleep And Fat Loss Weapon