SLEEP YOURSELF THIN

Well, sort of! It is not so much that the more you sleep, the more weight you lose. It is more a case of if you are not getting enough sleep, you are more likely to put weight on.

Think about it, if you've had a really late night and the following day you're extremely tired at work, you're more likely to reach for a fizzy drink and a bar of chocolate for that much needed quick burst of energy rather than opt for some water and a piece of fruit. Come the evening you're so 'cream-crackered' you don't do any exercise, and because you're energy levels are lower than a sausage dogs belly, you reach for something highly processed to eat rather than preparing yourself a decent meal.

So exactly how does this lack of sleep affect our ability to lose weight?

Researchers are not exactly sure, but much of the science points to a lack of sleep affecting some of the body’s hormones, in particular leptin and ghrelin which are responsible for controlling our appetites. Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone which tells us when to eat. When we do not get enough sleep we produce more of it. Leptin, on the other hand is the ‘stop’ hormone that signals for us to stop eating. When we do not get enough sleep our bodies produce less of it.

In short, more ghrelin plus less leptin makes it harder to control your appetite which almost certainly leads to weight gain. And some studies have shown that sleep-deprived individuals can chomp through an extra 600 extra calories per day!

Incidentally. the good people over at Harvard School of Public Health have also reported that weight gain due to lack of sleep could also possibly be caused by a number of other factors too, such as:

Giving people more time to eat. It seems glaringly obvious but the more time spent awake gives you more opportunity to eat.

Prompting people to choose less healthy diets. One study found that those who are sleep deprived are more likely to eat out, have irregular meal patterns and snack more.

Decreasing physical activity. Some studies have shown that sleep deprived people spend more time watching TV and less time being physically active than people who get enough sleep.

Lowering body temperature. Sleep deprived people tend to see a drop in their body temperatures which could possibly lead to decreased energy expenditure.

So how much sleep should we be getting?

Most experts agree that on average we need about seven and a half hours of quality sleep per night. If you are not getting enough there is plenty of information out there on how you can improve your sleep habits; and I urge you give the advice on the NHS website a whirl first, but if you are still really struggling the lovely people at examine.com have compiled a list of supplements which may help too.

If you are getting enough sleep already, please be aware that an extra two hours sleep per night will not make you lose half a stone, but if you are a four or five hour per night sleeper and you start sleeping for seven to eight hours, you may well start seeing the weight dropping off!

In conclusion…

Despite there being many weird and wonderful diets out there and the seemingly endless number of food supplement companies producing pills which will make you slim, sensible diet and sensible exercise regimes are proven methods of achieving weight loss. It therefore seems sensible to conclude that these regimes would be more difficult to adhere to if you are not getting enough sleep.

Thanks for reading,

Matt

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