ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW IMPORTANT SLEEP IS IN TERMS OF WEIGHT LOSS? A STUDY DONE BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CONCLUDED THAT MOST ADULTS GET SIX HOURS OR LESS OF SLEEP A NIGHT. THE ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF SLEEP AN ADULT SHOULD BE GETTING IS 7-9 HOURS A NIGHT. SLEEP IS CRUCIAL WHEN ONE IS TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT. HERE ARE FIVE WAYS HITTING THE HAY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS COMING TO THE GYM.
1. Sleep helps stop late night eating.
When you are up into the later hours of the night you are more likely to grab that late night snack and increase your caloric intake. When you exceed your caloric intake multiple days a week, you increase your chance of gaining weight. When you go to bed at a reasonable time, you prevent late night snacking!
2. Sleep helps you burn more calories.
When you get a good night’s sleep you are able to have more energy to push yourself that extra minute on the cardio machine! In fact, studies have also concluded that individuals who get more sleep actually burn more calories after a meal than tired individuals. MORE ENERGY MORE WEIGHT LOSS!
3. Sleep helps you choose healthier foods.
Have you ever heard of the saying don’t ever go to the grocery store when you are hungry? Well there was research done in Sweden where individuals who went grocery shopping while exhausted bought 1,000 calories more than they usually do. This is true because when you are lacking sleep your brain dulls frontal lobe activity; this is the part of the brain that is responsible for your decision-making. Also, when you are hungry, the more likely you are to grab foods high in carbohydrates.
4. Sleep helps you focus.
Everyone knows that when you get a goodnight’s sleep, the next day you are more focused and motivated to accomplish tasks. Simply put, when you are tired you are less motivated; you know what foods you should be eating, but you put in less effort to eat those foods. Think about it, if you are tired at work you are more likely to grab that Dunkin Donuts Coffee to help you focus again. Those Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks fancy coffees and lattes contain extra calories that you do NOT need!
5. Sleep helps aid fat loss
Ghrelin is the hormone that tells you “I’m hungry!” When you are sleep deprived a larger quantity of ghrelin is present in your body. Leptin is the hormone that signals you to stop eating, when you lack sleep there is a decrease in the amount of leptin in the body. Additionally, there is a cortisol increase when you do not get an adequate amount of sleep. Cortisol is a hormone that regulates appetite. Therefore when you lack sleep you tend to feel hungrier due to increased cortisol secretions.
Moral of the story: Get adequate sleep so you can stop making poor food choices and skipping a sweat at the gym!
