Sleep and Diet

Is too much sleep harmful to my weight loss program? The answer is no. In fact, it seems that a lack of sleep causes weight gain and prevents weight loss. Sleep habits affect hormone levels in the body. When people do not get enough sleep, the hormone leptin, drops. Leptin regulates the appetite and low levels signal to the brain that your stomach is not full, which may lead to overeating. A lack of leptin also makes the body crave carbohydrates and junk food. Furthermore, sleep deprivation can raise the stress hormone, cortisol, which helps control metabolism. A lack of sleep has also been shown to raise levels of grehlin, a hormone that makes people want to eat. In addition, the growth hormone that controls the balance of muscle to fat also decreases during sleep deprivation. This causes the body to store more fat.

Studies show that those getting four or less hours of sleep experienced the most weight gain. The research also showed that those getting the recommended eight to nine hours of sleep, did not experience a negative impact on hormone levels. The data also does not show that more sleep leads to weight loss. While sleeping, the body does not use as much energy or burn as many calories. Therefore, it is not recommended that one sleep more. Therefore, when dieting one needs to take into consideration more that proper food and exercise and include a good nights rest. A combination of the three could be very beneficial to one's weight loss program.