Did you know – a lack of sleep affects metabolism and a poor shuteye can make you gain weight. In our sleep-deprived society, an individual should know how sleep is linked to various hormones and the metabolism process in the body vital for healthy function and balance.
Studies show that sleep loss can have huge implications for one’s metabolism, thus, messing up with weight. Poor shuteye can have you gain a pound in a week or two.
Here’s what you need to know how the lack of sleep affects metabolism.
How sleep affects metabolism
Sleep loss causes weight gain because people who are sleep-deprived tend to eat greater portions of food, thus consuming more calories, displaying signs of eating impulsivity related to food and feel more exhaustion.
Sleep deprivation affects a person in three ways.
Slows down metabolism and insulin production
Sleep deprivation changes how your body’s charges metabolism and production of insulin. Both lagged down when you don’t have enough rest for the night. Insulin is critical to turn your food into fuel. One study shows that insulin production decreases by 30 percent after a week of sleepless night.
If the body has less production or is immune to the insulin it produces, the food will barely turn into energy or nutrients. Instead it will create more sugars and unhealthy matters that will make you gain weight and is susceptible to diabetes.
Confusion of appetite signals and hormonal productions
Sleep affects metabolism and hormonal productions, especially with body’s appetite signals – ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone responsible for increasing your appetite, while, leptin signals food satiety.
Sleep deprivation mixes up the signal and increases one’s ghrelin production, while lowering the leptin hormone. That’s why people tend to eat more when they’re sleep deprived. Weight gain and obesity is one factor many people observe when not sleeping properly.
Stress from sleep loss adds to weight gain and hormonal imbalance
Sleep loss can induce stress, which increases the body’s cortisol levels and appetite. Have you heard of the term “stress eating?” That’s true. Stress releases the hormone cortisol which your brain rambles and look for relief.
This relief comes in the releasing of serotonin, a hormone responsible for regulating mood, appetite, sleep, and memory. When a person is sleep deprived, the brain signals a sense of stress which can be made relief with appetite satiety. In short, you look forward to eating – especially, sweets – to make yourself feel good.
What if you sleep too much?
So, should you be sleeping more? Scientists even believe that more is not always better. If the lack of sleep affects metabolism, more sleep wouldn’t make it better. It has the same metabolic impact that can place your body into risks, such as obesity, heart attack, and body pain.
People who are found to sleep less than 6 hours a night tend to have metabolic symptoms including:
- Hypertension
- Increased blood glucose
- Increased triglyceride levels
- Low HDL
- Belly fat
Excessive sleep may happen due to new work schedule, jet lag, or a tiring event. However, if you find no particular cause for the incessant oversleeping every morning, it can mean an underlying condition. Talk to your doctor about the issue and he or she can prescribe you with a treatment.
Tips to beat a sleep loss and slow metabolism
Sleep affects metabolism? Get as much as 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night to boost your metabolism. But it sounds easier than done. Here are sleep tips proven to get you that good shuteye.
Exercise regularly
Exercise proves to contribute more to a restful sleep. Physical activity can induce happy hormones during the day and invite the sleep hormone to kick in when night comes. By that, it regulates much of the body’s internal rhythm for a restorative sleep.
Exercise burns your calories and increases your metabolic state. It contributes to weight maintenance and fat loss to ensure you with a healthy weight. What’s more, it controls stress and anxiety by making you happy!
Drink more water
Ditch the caffeine and sugary drinks! People who take in water regularly lost about 44% of their weight if they limit their sugar intake. That’s because water reduces your calorie intake.
What’s more, it helps you rehydrate at night and get your body to work while sleeping – such as, improved mood and cognitive performance. Just keep in mind that drinking before bedtime can increase the need to urinate during the night.
Drink tea
Green tea is one way to detoxify the body and promote metabolism. It’s a soothing drink in general that calms down the nerves to take out stress and anxiety. Just be careful though – some teas have strong caffeine and can wreck sleep. Choose the ones that have lesser caffeine in it.
However, too much green tea can make you gassy, bloated, or have diarrhea. So, you can try other relaxing teas like chamomile, herbal and fruit infusions, or black teas to regulate your food and anxiety.
Eat enough
Overeating is one major complication when stress and sleep loss kicks in. When you gain weight, the first this that comes into mind is to skip meals. To weigh less, you’ve got to eat less, right? Wrong. Not eating enough undermines your body to burn calories because it decreases your metabolism.
Besides, under-eating, can cause sleep woes like night hunger, insomnia, and restless sleep. People reported feeling lightheaded and sick in the morning. Meanwhile, overeating can lead to problems such as sleeping hot, sleep apnea, or acid reflux.
Practice daily meditation and breathing exercises
Stress can slow the body’s function to break down food more and can cause the hormones to go haywire. And did you know the food we crave during stressful times tends to be all sugary and sweet?
