Lack
of Sleep Increases Overeating
Lots of great tips and
advice to help you lose that weight.
(Go Back to Weight Loss
Index)
|
Click Here To View our
Great Weight Loss Specials |
Researchers from several separate
studies have found a link between sleep and the hormones that
influence our eating behavior.
Two specific hormones are
involved.
Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger.
Leptin tells the brain when it’s time to stop.
When you’re sleep deprived, your
ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels
decrease. The result is an increased craving for
food and not feeling full. Add the fact that sleep
deprived people tend to chose different foods to snack on—mainly
high calorie sweets and salty and starchy foods - and it’s easy
to see how these small changes can lead to long-term weight
gain.
Optimal sleep for weight loss
Most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.
Some more, some less. V ery few of us actually get the minimum
of seven. How do you know how much sleep you really need?
Experts say to sleep as long as
you want for several days (best done on vacation). Then,
your sleep should stabilise and you’ll find yourself waking up
after the same number of hours daily, within 15 minutes or so.
Once you know about how much sleep you need, start getting into
a steady routine. Set a regular time for sleep. Start
getting ready ahead of time. And experts say, avoid using the
bed for watching TV or doing work.
Sleep + exercise + a healthy
diet = weight loss
Don’t think snoozing a few hours longer each night will solve a
weight problem. It won’t. Exercising and eating healthfully is
still the way to go. But, lack of shut-eye may soon be
considered another risk factor for obesity.
One thing does seem to be clear.
When your body is not hungry for sleep, it won’t be so hungry
for food either. |
