Sleep Affects Weight Loss

The battle of the bulge, how sleep affects weight loss

Sleep affects weight loss according to a number of studies that have been carried out. With the flesh baring season upon us you might be trying to ditch those pesky pounds. You're eating more lettuce than a warren of rabbits and giving Mo Farah a run for his money, pounding the payments in your new glow white Nike's. Then you hop on the scales at the end of the week, expecting to see the scales congratulate you on your new svelte self and nada 'nothing'. The scales haven't even moved and you've been doing everything right. Or have you? If you've been skipping hours of serious kip then this could be the problem. In this article we will discuss how sleep affects weight loss and what to do about it.

Sleep affects weight loss

How sleep affects weight loss

There are a number of theories on how sleep affects weight loss. One such theory is the effect of sleep on cortisol, the stress hormone. Lack of sleep makes it difficult to control cortisol levels. Cortisol affects insulin levels by making them rise and so your blood sugar drops. Cravings for sweet and fatty food increase and before you know it you're raiding the forbidden aisle of the supermarket. Conversely, good quality sleeps helps with our ability to cope with stress and reduce cortisol levels. So we can see here how sleep affects weight loss.

One other theory is that skimping on shut eye can cause you to make bad decisions. Lack of sleep dulls activity in the brains frontal lobe. This means that you are more likely to act on impulse and before you've had chance to swipe that little devil from your shoulder you're calling the local takeaway.

How to improve sleep

So we know that there is a good possibility that sleep affects weight loss but how can we improve sleep? The most important thing you need to put into practice is good sleep hygiene. This includes leaving your beloved mobile in the bedside cabinet or even out of the bedroom. Study after study has shown how glaring at our mobiles in bed in to the small hours of the night can wreak havoc with our sleep. It is also important to keep your bedroom uncluttered and cool. Tidy spaces help to calm the brain and make it easier to fall asleep.

If you are concerned about how sleep affects weight loss then you might also consider getting rid of that lumpy bumpy mattress. Sleeping on a mattress that has seen better days is not conducive to some serious shut eye. If your mattress is older than 7 years old than there is a good chance it is passed its used by date. Need help with picking a mattress then click here for our super useful mattress buying guide.