Why is Sleeping Important for Weight Loss

A good night sleep has numerous benefits for your health.

It helps you relieve stress, makes you more productive and healthier, and it can help you lose weight, too.

If you are sleep deprived while on a diet you can get bad results and don’t lose as much as pounds as you want.

Make sure you get enough sleep when you start a diet. (1)

Sleeping well is as important as exercising when it comes to weight loss.

Women who sleep less than 7 hours tend to gain more weight and it’s more difficult to lose weight for them.

Here are 5 reasons why is sleeping for weight loss important: 

You will avoid late night meals

If you stay up late at night you may reach for food more than you’d like to and intake unnecessary calories that make you gain weight.

If you go to sleep at about 11 pm you may avoid intaking additional 500 calories.

Why?

Well, if you go to sleep at 2 am you probably intake about 500 calories until then through sodas and unhealthy snacks.

You will burn calories faster

You will have much more energy after a good night sleep and your body will burn 5% more calories than after a bad night sleep, even when you don’t exercise.

People who sleep well burn 20% more calories after eating than those who don’t.

If you sleep well, you will lose the fat tissue faster than when you are tired, even though your diet is the same.

You will buy healthier food

Never buy grocery when you are hungry or exhausted.

Because if you do that, you might buy up to 1300 unwanted calories.

When you are rested you tend to buy healthier food even when you are hungry.

You will watch the size of your portions

A recent study has shown that respondents who didn’t get enough sleep put 35 calories more than the ones who did.

You will avoid overeating

Your brain works differently when you are tired.

For example, it takes more time for your brain to realize that you are full and that’s why people who don’t sleep well tend to overeat.

Moreover, when you haven’t rested, the part of your brain responsible for pleasure gets activated and that’s why when you don’t get enough sleep you are craving for unhealthy food which gives you more satisfaction than healthy food.

So, how much sleep do you need?

Eight hours of sleep is enough for your body to work well.

You need to have an optimal number of sleeping hours (8) because this is important for your health. Also, when you get enough sleep you help your body burn more fat.

It would be ideal if you could go to sleep at the same time every night.

How to improve your sleeping in order to lose weight more effectively?

Make sure you have at least half an hour to relax before you go to bed.

Yoga before sleeping is a great way to relax your body.

Taking deep breaths and yoga relax your nervous system and you will fall asleep faster.

Avoid drinking alcohol before you go to bed because it negatively affects the quality of your sleeping.

Your body needs to break down sugar from the alcohol while you sleep, so it can’t rest.

Eating dairy products helps you avoid feeling hungry during the night which means you won’t wake up just to snack something.

Dairy products help build muscle tissue during sleeping so it’s a good idea to drink a glass of milk or yogurt before going to bed.

Sleeping in a room with lower temperature speeds up your metabolism and that helps burn calories.

Don’t do exercise before going to bed.

Exercising makes you feel awake, so it’s more difficult to fall asleep.

Leave exercising for the morning. It will boost your energy levels.

In case you can’t work out in the morning, try not to exercise 4 hours before going to bed.

So, what’s the bottom line?

Does sleep affect weight loss?

Yes.

Getting 8 hours a night is essential for your well-being, as we already mentioned.

And not getting enough sleep may be the reason why you gain weight.

If you go to sleep around midnight and you get up at 6 am so that you can exercise before work, you need to change your routine.

Getting enough sleep is important for your body to recover.

When you sleep your body regenerates and resets.

And when you don’t sleep enough you may disturb the levels of your hormones and you may decrease your energy.

It’s not a big problem if you do this only from time to time. But, if this is a habitual thing, then you will have consequences.

To sum up, make sure you get enough sleep and try to go to bed and wake up approximately at the same time every day.

READ MORE: HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST WHILE YOU ARE SLEEP!