How sleep affects our weight

Did you know that lack of sleep can cause you to put on weight? Shocking thought isn’t it? Who’d have thought that counting sheep is as important as watching what you eat, or repetitions at the gym?

Although physical activity and a balanced diet are key factors in health and weight loss, if you’re not getting enough sleep (at least seven hours a night), according to researchers at the University of Colorado, just five days is all it takes to put on two pounds of weight. Just think about what could happen if you don’t get enough sleep in the long-term.

It appears that when it comes to your weight and sleep, every hour counts – literally.

After a bad night’s sleep, hands up if you spend the next day snacking on foods that might not be so good for you? This is because lack of sleep causes changes to the hormones that regulate hunger and appetite. Leptin is the hormone that suppresses appetite and encourages the body to burn off energy. Ghrelin is the hormone that triggers feelings of hunger. Needless to say then, that when you’re short on sleep the levels of leptin decrease and the levels of ghrelin increases.

These aren’t the only hormones affected by lack of sleep though. Insulin is the hormone that helps the body store and use glucose (sugar), and after only a few days of sleep deprivation, your body’s ability to respond to insulin signals decreases. And when you’re not responsive to insulin, the fat cells in your body are less able to release fatty acids and lipids, which produce energy so your blood glucose levels remain high, which in turn lead to more insulin being released!

Lack of sleep also affects cortisol, a steroid hormone that helps the body respond to stress, causing levels to rise making some people want to eat more food.

Then there’s the affect that lack of sleep has on the brain. Apparently, if you’re sleep deprived ‘resistance is futile’ when it comes to the call of chocolate, fries, ice cream and the sleep-deprived munchies. This is due to increased activity in a region of your brain called the amygdala. This is your brain’s ‘reward centre’ that can make you crave high-calorie, fatty or salty foods. If you don’t get enough sleep another area of your brain, the insular cortex, where ‘will power’ resides gets desensitised meaning you have more trouble resisting that tub of ice cream.

Effectively, by not getting enough sleep you are likely to find yourself constantly hungry and wanting bigger portions of all the foods associated with weight gain.

So, can you then sleep your way to a better body? Sleep alone won’t give you the body of your dreams, but it can help.

The reason behind sleep deprivation generally falls into two categories:

• Sleep hygiene – trouble falling asleep and staying asleep
• Scheduling issue – lifestyle

Solutions to sleep hygiene issues include limiting caffeine, avoiding blue light (gadget lights) before bed, and creating a cool and dark environment. However, if your lack of sleep is due to scheduling issues, then it will require some lifestyle restructuring. This can be done and is best implemented slowly. For example slowly altering the time you go to bed or getting up to increase your sleep.

In conclusion, according to Matthew Walker, author of ‘Why We Sleep’: “Short sleep will increase hunger and appetite, compromise impulse control within the brain, increase food consumption (especially of high calorie foods), decrease feelings of food satisfaction after eating, and prevent effective weight loss when dieting.”

Helen Prosper

If you would like any help with managing your sleep hygiene or lifestyle better then contact Helen at helen @livewellandprosper.uk or 07545 227272 or visit www.livewellandprosper.uk