How sleep affects weight loss. If you didn´t know, sleep is the most underated legal supplement you can take.
After reading this article you might be surprised how sleep affects weight loss.
Because.
When you sleep too little, you will gain weight.
Believe me or not.
It might not make sense, as you might think that you consume more calories when you are awake than by sleeping, right?
Let me explain.
How sleep affects weight loss
Why is sleep important for weight loss?
Sleep deprivation can cause a 5-20 % change in metabolism. Depending on your weight and activity that could mean 200-500 calories in a day.
If you sleep only 5-6 hours per night, you might end up eating 70.000 calories more in one year, which causes 4-7 kilo weight gain. Every year.
Why is this happening?
We have two hormones called Leptin and Ghrelin. Even though you might have never heard these names, I promise this is not some science text where even Einstein couldn’t understand a word.
I’ll explain as simple as I can
Leptin is a hormone that signals to your body feeling full. In short, when you have a lot of leptin going through your blood, you have less appetite and you don’t want to eat your fridge empty.
Ghrelin is working opposite, the more ghrelin you have, the more you want to eat something.
If you don’t have a good balance with these hormones, you could end up eating more.
In studies where people slept just 5 hours compared when sleep was 8 hours with the same conditions and activity, people who slept 5 hours were more hungry and were eating a lot more.
Other experiments show that when people could choose all the foods they wanted, people who slept only 5 hours, were eating on average 300 kcal more compared to people who slept 7,5 hours.
Reason behind this behavior is your hormones. If you sleep too little, you have less leptin and more ghrelin. It is like a double effect, you will feel less “I am full” and more “I am hungry” at the same time. These effects started already on the 2nd day of this experiment.
Maybe you can relate craving more food when you haven’t slept well a couple nights?!?
There is nothing wrong with you or your willpower if this happens.
How sleep affects weight loss
Are you burning calories when you sleep?
Most common myth is that you think you burn more calories when you are awake compared to when you are sleeping.
Difference between not sleeping at all and 8 hour sleep is less than 150 calories.
Per day.
Amount you need more calories when staying awake is nothing compared to life-threatening risks for not sleeping.
No need to mention, the more you are awake, the more time you have to eat.
The less you sleep, the less energized you will be and the coach is more attractive than staying active.
In short, more calories in, less calories out.
Sleeping more will boost your metabolism.
How sleep affects weight loss
How do workouts affect your sleep?
I have been tracking my sleep for the past 6 months and here is a quick story of what I learned.
Hard workout late at night made my sleep quality worse. Especially after the ice hockey game my adrenaline level was still too high to sleep with good quality.
My sleep quantity is normal but my body is not in a state to recover at night.
If you are working out late with high intensity, your sleep quality might suffer due adrenaline and it will take longer to fall asleep. Especially one hour before bed time, try to avoid high intensity workouts.
This applies only for high intensity workouts. Several studies show that exercising in the evening actually helps you to fall asleep faster and sleep more time in deep sleep.
How sleep affects weight loss
Going to bed at the same time every day?
This has been the game changer for me. I used to stay awake at least until midnight, staying awake longer on weekends. Now I try to go to sleep at 22.00 every day.
7 days in a week.
Always when just possible.
It is important as our bodies are biological clocks with the succession of a circadian rhythm. It is again a fancy word but in short it means that your body is naturally getting tired at the same time every day. If you fight against it, you increase risk for various diseases.
Try going to bed at the same time for 14 days and you might never want to stay longer awake.
How sleep affects weight loss
Drinking Alcohol to fall asleep easier?
It is true that alcohol might help you to fall asleep. That is what I thought too but after seeing the quality of my sleep, I can say that it is more harmful than helpful.
Even a small amount of alcohol before going to sleep is raising your heart beat as your body is working to remove alcohol from your body.
Which leads to not recovering during night.
Who doesn’t know the feeling after going out and despite sleeping long, you still feel tired next morning?!?
Even alcohol may help you fall into a light sleep it will reduce the deeper stages of sleep and leads to more disrupted sleep.
I am not saying that you should never drink alcohol but if you do it regularly, I challenge you to try to be without alcohol for 14 days (ideally 30 days but start with 14..) and see how that affects your sleep and life quality.
If you can’t imagine 14 days without alcohol, you have a problem 😉
After 14 days, you can always drink alcohol, if you still want to.
How sleep affects weight loss
Sleep conditions
Changing to a new pillow made a huge difference for my sleep. 3 months ago I started to use a Bio-Soy pillow from my partner Naturafit. Waking up with light pain and stiffness in my neck are gone since.
I could not believe how just a quality pillow can alone make such a big difference.
Investing for a quality pillow and mattress are one the best investments you can make to yourself and your loved ones. You spent one third of your life sleeping and even a small improvement for your sleep will be worth the investment.
I can only recommend quality products from my partner Naturafit. If you want to invest your sleep and choose products from Naturafit, you get a 10% discount with code “fitmitturo10” from all products in Online Shop or you can also book your free consultation in a sleep studio in Lana (Bz) Italy.
How sleep affects weight loss
7 Tips How To Sleep Better
1. Stay active throughout the day and get fresh air.
If you ever went for a long hike or walk, do you remember how well you were sleeping the night after? Exercising (unless it is not a high intensity workout late at night) will help you a lot.
2. Evaluate your environment.
Sleep quality and quantity play a role in your health so even if you can´t get a full 8-hour sleep, you can try to improve your quality.
- Leave electronic devices away from your bedroom. (If you need alarm, buy an alarm clock ;))
- Invest high quality mattress and pillow to achieve the best sleeping posture
- Minimize distractions, such as noises and light
3. Avoid caffeine 10 hours before bed time
If you drink coffee a lot, try to experiment and avoid it 10 hours before bed time. You might be surprised.
4. Build a bedtime routine and aim to go to bed at the same time, 7 days a week.
This habit has been a game changer for me. Trust me, you won´t miss anything when staying on the couch a bit longer 😉 If you are working too long and still replying to emails at night, try setting reverse alarm e.g. hour before bedtime when you stop doing everything else and start your bedtime routine.
5. Be aware of foods you are eating late at night.
If you find yourself craving a late night snack, try to skip it and go to sleep instead. Another good way is to keep a food diary and write down foods you ate, especially when you didn’t sleep well. You might find some patterns which foods are not good for you.
6. Avoid alcohol especially late at night.
If you have built the habit to drink one or two drinks at night to fall asleep faster, I challenge you to try without. It might take longer to fall asleep but your quality will be much better.
7. Don’t try to do these all tips at once.
Start with one thing and stick to it before moving to the next one. If you should go to sleep 2 hours earlier, it is impossible to change that in one day. Start trying to go to bed 15 minutes earlier than usual and after doing that for some days or weeks, you can try to go another 15 minutes earlier.
What Next?
If you want to seriously start and learn exact steps on how to improve your well-being, let me help you.
I have two options for you depending on how much support you need.
With my one-on-one coaching we create an individual training program together for your goals, time and equipment you have. I will walk with you individually through all your specific situations and take a guesswork from you away. I am personally motivating and controlling you that you stay on track. If you think that someone who is supporting you and is there to answer your questions could help you on your journey, we may be a good fit. Please Fill Out THIS FORMULA and let´s chat. Before you make any decision, read what my clients are saying HERE
Another option is Membership Coaching where coaching happens on my private Facebook page and I am there to answer all questions and help you to take action. You can choose from over 100 different programs right one for you and your goals or do LIVE Workouts with me. You can JOIN and read more about LIVE Challenge HERE
Both are great options, it depends on your needs and the support you need which option is better for you.
Regardless if you decide to join my coaching programs or not, I am always here for you and care about you, more than you will ever realize.
