The Connection Between Sleep Deprivation And Weight Gain

Keeping the weight off once you've lost it is the real challenge. Have you ever thought that sleep could be why you're not losing weight? While scientists and physicians are still trying to discover the complicated link between sleep and weight, some indications are that obtaining a good night's sleep benefits your health and may help you lose weight. Let's find out more here.

Can Sleep Deprivation Lead To Weight Gain? 

Yes. Some studies have found a connection between how long you sleep and your BMI. For example, it has been shown that people who need between seven and eight hours of sleep each night may experience physiological changes that promote weight gain if they consistently get less than six hours of sleep per night.

The following are the reasons for the changes:

• The hunger hormones ghrelin and the satiety hormone leptin.
• Alterations in brain activity predict a greater propensity for making poor food choices.
• Constant fatigue makes it harder to get up and move around.

Exhaustion And Hormones: Why Those Sighs Aren't Helpful

Hormones are chemical messengers that carry instructions from one body part to another. Lack of sleep has been linked to an increase in several hormones that contribute to weight gain.

Specifically, two of these hormones, leptin, and ghrelin, are known to play important roles in regulating food intake. Leptin is the primary hormone that makes us feel full, while ghrelin is the primary hormone that makes us feel hungry. Therefore, ghrelin is the hunger hormone, and leptin is the satiety hormone.

• Leptin

Leptin regulates appetite and body fat levels, primarily produced by adipose (fat) tissue. The suppressed appetite hormone leptin is released in inverse proportion to fat mass. Therefore, increased levels of fat cause leptin to rise. When a healthy person carries additional fat, their leptin levels increase, which sends a message to the brain to reduce hunger. If this happens, the body's fat stores may be depleted as a by-product of its usage of fat for energy.

The brain receives a signal of hunger from fat cells via leptin levels. So if you get enough sleep, your leptin levels should gradually climb overnight and peak at about 2 in the morning. This gradual increase emerged so we wouldn't feel hungry at inappropriate times, like when we should be sleeping.

Researchers have looked at the correlation between leptin and sleep several times and consistently find that those who get less sleep have lower leptin levels. If you don't sleep enough, your leptin levels will remain low. As far as the brain is concerned, the body needs more food and drink. Once the brain sends out hunger signals, we eat even when we're not hungry. Since the body thinks it has to stock up on supplies, it stores the calories it takes in as fat.

• Ghrelin

Ghrelin, also called the 'hunger hormone' because it stimulates appetite, is mainly secreted by the stomach. Increases in blood ghrelin soon before eating are attributed to the surge in hunger hormones that drives us to eat. Conversely, the hunger hormone ghrelin drops after we eat.

The hormone ghrelin is affected by the foods we consume; carbs and proteins than lipids cause a more significant reduction in ghrelin, thus, choosing the former over the latter, such as a fast food burger, may help us feel content for longer.

Ghrelin levels drop as we sleep because our bodies have less of a need to burn calories. When we don't get enough sleep, our ghrelin levels don't drop as much. Sometimes people feel hungry even when they don't need to eat.

Accordingly, due to the altered levels of these two crucial hormones, sleep deprivation makes us believe that we are both hungrier and less full than we are. So it's obvious why and how this illness would cause someone to put on weight.

Sleep deprivation has also been shown to alter the body's response to insulin, which can cause a drop in leptin levels and a subsequent attenuation of the body's hunger and fullness responses.

The Link Between Sleep Deprivation and Overeating

Sleep Deprivation And Physical Inactivity

Reducing physical activity is another symptom of chronic sleep loss. This is because you'll feel tired and unmotivated to work out if you get less than the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. In addition, less exercise means fewer calories burned, which might lead to weight gain.

Lack of sleep has been linked to a decrease in physical activity and an increase in television viewing.

5 Ways To Sleep Better For Weight Management

• Keep a regular sleep/wake schedule.
• Keep up a healthy routine of movement and exercise.
• Do not nap in the afternoon.
• To get a good night's sleep, avoid ingesting alcohol or caffeine just before bed.
• Get into a relaxing habit right before bedtime.

The Takeaway

YourHappy Weight (Gummies)

If you've noticed that your weight is rising along with your sleeplessness, you may be relieved to find that obtaining a better night's sleep will help you pull in your cravings and improve your overall control over your eating habits and weight. Then, start your journey to a total transformation with YourHappy Weight (Gummies) to lose weight and keep it off, burn fat, and detoxify your body.

FAQ

Would sleep deprivation cause weight loss?

Sleep deprivation can make it harder to lose weight because it can make the body less responsive to weight loss and more likely to hold onto fat.

What role does sleep have in weight loss?

Reduced calorie intake and hunger due to sleep deprivation may be mitigated by getting a good night's rest. Sleep deprivation has been shown repeatedly to enhance food cravings and calorie intake.

Does daytime sleep result in weight loss?

Extra hours in bed won't magically turn you into a dieter. It takes time, but good sleep might help you lose weight when dieting. Resting makes weight loss easier, according to experts.