It’s possible that getting enough sleep is just as important for weight loss as what you eat and how much you exercise. It’s unfortunate that many individuals don’t get enough sleep. Mounting evidence indicates that many people struggle to lose weight because they don’t get enough sleep.

Here are six explanations for why getting adequate sleep could aid in weight loss.

1. May help you avoid weight gain associated with less sleep

A higher body mass index (BMI) and weight increase have frequently been related to frequent short sleep, which is typically defined as fewer than 6-7 hours.

Adults who slept less than 7 hours per night had a 41% greater risk of obesity, according to one study of 20 trials involving 300,000 participants. However, individuals who slept more soundly did not see a sudden rise in body fat percentage (7–8 hours per night)

Lack of sleep can increase appetite and lead to more consumption of food due to the changing the levels of the hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin caused of deprivation of sleep.

2. Sleep can enhance physical activity & improved muscle mass.

Sleep and exercise are closely correlated with one another. Insufficient sleep reduces physical activity, while insufficient exercise may affect sleep. For good cardio vascular health, increased muscle mass and for improved endurance, it is critical we get good sleep every night.

Getting adequate sleep helps the body to produce growth hormones which helps improve muscle mass and accelerates the process of repair in the body from a heavy workout.

Sleep deprivation can result in daytime exhaustion, which can lower your motivation to exercise and increase your likelihood of being inactive.

Furthermore, getting too little sleep can make you less effective at your sport by lowering your:

• reaction time
• fine motor skills
• muscular power
• endurance
• problem solving skills

Your chance of injury could also go up, and a delayed recovery time.

Ultimately, the secret to keeping active is getting adequate sleep.

3. Potential benefits for your metabolism

Sleep has a significant impact on your metabolism. The number of calories your body burns while at rest is known as your resting metabolic rate (RMR). It depends on a variety of things, including:

• age
• weight
• height
• sex
• muscle mass

Interestingly, the length of your sleep may also impact your RMR. Sleep deprivation may lower RMR, but receiving enough rest (sleep) contributed in the increase RMR.

Fat oxidation, which involves the breakdown of fat cells into energy, may also be suppressed by sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation dramatically reduced basal fat oxidation in individuals of various ages, sexes, and body types.

4. May help moderate your appetite

Getting enough sleep may help you avoid the rise in calorie consumption and appetite that might happen when you are sleep deprived.

Numerous studies have shown that people getting lack of sleep report having a greater hunger and consuming more calories each day. The impact of sleep on the hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin is probably a contributing factor in the rise in food intake.

Lack of sleep makes you feel hungry and makes you eat more because the body produces more ghrelin and less leptin hormone.

5. May help you make better food choices

A restful night’s sleep could influence your ability to choose healthier foods.

Lack of sleep alters how your brain works and may make it more difficult for you to make judgements. Making good dietary choices and avoiding tempting meals may become more difficult as a result.

Additionally, it appears that when you are sleep deprived, food stimulates the reward centres of the brain more.

For instance, one study discovered that participants who were sleep deprived showed increased reward-related brain activity after seeing images of high-calorie foods. So, after a bad night of sleep, not only is that dish of ice cream more satisfying, but you’ll probably find it more difficult to exercise self-control.

6. Sleeping early can prevent late-night snacking

You may be able to avoid the late-night munching that frequently results from staying up past your bedtime by getting to bed sooner.

By delaying going to bed, you’re staying up later, which gives you more time to eat, especially if it has been a while since dinner.

You might be hungry between supper and bedtime, for instance, if you eat dinner at 6:00 p.m. and stay up until 1:00 a.m. every night.

It’s interesting to note that eating late at night increases weight gain, raises BMI, and decreases fat oxidation, making weight loss more challenging.

Additionally, eating heavy meals too close to bedtime may reduce the quality of your sleep and exacerbate sleep deficit. Limiting food intake before night may be especially important for people with sleep difficulties, acid reflux, or indigestion.

Not getting enough sleep can undermine your weight loss efforts.

Lack of sleep is associated with making inferior food selections, feeling hungrier and consuming more calories, engaging in less physical exercise, and eventually gaining weight.

If you’re struggling to lose weight, it might be time to look at your sleeping patterns. Even though everyone’s demands are different, the average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep per night.

Getting the much-needed rest you need can be the key to achieving your weight loss objectives.