Sleep More, Lose Weight
If I told you that you needed to sleep more to lose weight, how would you react? Most of my clients laugh, admit that they like the sound of that, and then tell me that they have no time for extra sleep. In case you feel the same way, let me try to convince you otherwise.
Studies have shown that simply sleeping more can make you lose weight. On the other hand, sleeping less can cause you to gain weight.
There are two main ways that you lose weight when you sleep more: 1. your body has a chance to heal the muscle damage caused by your strength training workouts, and 2. your leptin and ghrelin hormone levels change, causing you to eat less during the day.
1. While you sleep, your body heals the microscopic muscle damage that you caused with your strength training workouts.
This is critical because the whole point of working your muscles is to make them stronger. You cause microscopic muscle damage when you weight lift, and you heal that damage in your sleep. When the muscle heals, it uses the foods you eat and your fat stores for energy. This burns calories, increases your weight loss, and refreshes you.
If you never allow your muscles to heal, you won't accomplish much with weight lifting. Instead of strong, toned muscles and fat burning you'll just have muscle damage. This is why you need to let muscles heal for a day (or sometimes as long as a week) between workouts, and you should always try to get enough sleep.
2. Sleep affects hormones that control your weight gain and/or loss.
Leptin, a hormone that increases with sleep, creates a sensation of satiety. It tells you that you're satisfied, and to quit eating.
Ghrelin (think: gremlin) is a hormone that decreases with sleep. It stimulates your appetite, causing you to feel more hungry and to crave carbs and fat.
A recent study at the University of Chicago found that when sleep was restricted, appetite increased dramatically. In fact, the subjects' desire for high-fat, high-calories foods went up by 45%!
You may have already noticed this in your own life. Can you remember a night when you slept poorly or only got a few hours of sleep? Did you crave sugar and junk food the next day?
It's no coincidence that people tend to eat the least healthy foods late at night. They're using the food as energy when they really need sleep.
So, try to get more sleep. A minimum of 8 hours is necessary, but weight lifters tend to need more than that. Set a sleep goal for the week, and watch those pounds melt off.
Remember: "Early to bed, and early to rise makes a (wo)man healthy and wealthy and wise."
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