Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Weight Loss and Sleep

Can skimping on a good night's rest affect your ability to maintain a healthy weight? 

Experts are now convinced that it can.

"Women who slept 5 hours per night were 32% more likely to experience major weight gain (an increase of 33 pounds or more) and 15% more likely to become obese over the course of the 16-year study, compared to those who slept 7 hours a night." *

Why does not sleeping make you gain weight?

1 - Not getting enough sleep makes you prone to overeat. "Two specific hormones are involved," says Michele Silence, MA for The Diet Channel. "Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger. Leptin tells the brain when it’s time to stop. When you’re sleep deprived, your ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels decrease. The result is an increased craving for food and not feeling full." **

2 - "Sleeping less may affect changes in a person's basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn when you rest)." Sanjay Patel, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH * 

3 - "Interference with carbohydrate metabolism may cause high blood glucose levels. Excess amounts of glucose encourages the overproduction of insulin which leads to the storage of excess body fat and insulin resistance (a significant sign of adult-onset diabetes.)" Tracee Conforth ***

4 - The body regenerates during sleep, which will help build muscle tissue and help you lose weight. "While we sleep the body repairs and rebuilds organ tissue, ligaments, tendons and lean muscle by burning the calories we take in as food during the day. And if that is not enough, sleep will burn excess fat." Rick Hendershot ****

Well, I'm a believer. I'll just explain to my boys that they can't climb into bed with me anymore because it's making me gain weight. That should convince them there aren't monsters in the basement. 

If you're having trouble getting enough sleep, check out the suggestions at Medicine.net - http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52027. One of the suggestions is to get moving. Loving that!


Sleep More, Lose Weight

Getting Enough Snooze Time May Be The Best Diet Secret of All

By Mary Shomon http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/sleepdiet.htm

** http://www.thedietchannel.com/Weight-Loss-and-Sleep.htm

***  http://womenshealth.about.com/library/weekly/aa121702a.htm

**** How To Lose Weight While You Sleep

By Rick Hendershot http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Lose-Weight-While-You-Sleep&id=210466

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