If you are looking to lose weight, you already know that you need to eat right and exercise regularly. But there is one more element you need for weight loss success: sleep.
More and more research, in recent year, is shedding light on how important sleep is to maintain good health, physically and mentally. In this hectic day and age, getting a good night's sleep is almost wishful thinking. However, it is a huge necessity, especially if you are trying to lose those extra kilos.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found lack of sleep can impact your goal even if you are on a strict diet. Researchers of the study found dieters who were well-rested lost weight and fat. They also felt less hungry and more satisfied with the food they consumed.
Poor sleep can also have an impact on your fat cells by altering them. If you've experienced a bad night's sleep, then you know that feeling exhausted grumpy the next day is inevitable. However, your mood is not the only thing affected by insufficient sleep. Researchers from the University of Chicago say it can also alter your fat cells. They call it "metabolic grogginess". If you are sleep deprived for more than four days, an excess amount of insulin can store fat in all the wrong parts of the body, like the liver. This could cause you to gain weight and increase your risk of diabetes.
Lack of sleep can also cause you to crave food you'd rather stay away from. This is because hormones called leptin and ghrelin control hunger. The production of more ghrelin and less leptin can cause you to feel hungry. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found of your brain increases your need for food when you've only had a few hours of sleep.
If you are feeling sleepy and exhausted, you are less likely to feel motivated to hit the gym. You may not feel like you even have the energy for it. This could put a big damper on your weight loss goals. Researchers from Brazil found sleep debt reduces protein synthesis, which causes muscle loss. This could also make you more prone to injuries.
So if you are on a mission to get the body you want, make sure to make sleep a priority. Making lifestyle changes to get better sleep will help you become abetter you.
