Lack of Sleep and Weight Gain

How many of you are not getting enough sleep? I would have to say a good majority, and I know because I’ve been there. With our never-ending to do list and commitments, it almost seems impossible to get to bed at a reasonable hour these days. We all know that sleep is important, but did you know that lack of sleep can actually cause our waistline to increase?

So what is causing this weight gain? Researchers have found that lack of sleep is creating an imbalance of hormones in our body. Two hormones, leptin and ghrelin help to control appetite, weight gain, and weight loss. Leptin, is a hormone that tells your brain to stop eating, thus suppressing appetite. Ghrelin works in the opposite sense and tells your brain to keep eating, thus increasing appetite. So what researchers have found is that those who are not getting enough sleep have lower leptin levels and higher ghrelin levels. These imbalanced hormones can cause increased appetite, thus the sleep deprived tend to consume more calories throughout the day and thus gain weight. So we can see why sleep is not just important for bodily functions, but also for our fitness goals.

So here a few tips to help you start getting your zzz’s and getting those hormones back on track:

• Make sure you are getting 7-8 hours of required sleep. Keep in mind getting enough sleep will allow you to be more productive during your day and have increased energy to accomplish more.

• Establish a consistent sleep schedule. Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it. Also get up around the same time every day. Over time your body will adapt to this sleep schedule.

• Avoid caffeine during the evenings that may keep you awake.

• If you feel that you are just too busy to get enough sleep find tasks in your daily life that you can cut out or that are taking up too much you your valuable time.

• Find ways to outsource tasks to give yourself more free time. Hire a housekeeper to come in once a week or a concierge services to run your errands. Also, don’t be afraid to delegate tasks to free up your time.