Sleep More, Weigh Less

Like I said in my last post, life can be an absolute shit storm with one result being too little sleep.  Is it your lack of sleep that's adding inches to you waistline?  Recent studies are showing it's a possibility.

There are two hormones affected by not getting enough sleep that are directly related to hunger and feeling full: ghrelin and leptin.  Ghrelin is a hormone released by the stomach that tells the brain you are hungry.  Leptin is the hormone that regulates eating by telling the body when you are full.  In studies it has been shown that ghrelin levels are higher in people who sleep too little and leptin levels are lower in people who sleep too little.  Simply put, if you are not getting enough sleep, your body is telling you you're hungry and not telling you you're full.  In no way does that math add up to weight loss.

Let's look at how your lack of sleep may be affecting your day to day life.  You don't sleep well, or you don't sleep long enough, so you look for caffeine or something sugary to get you going.  You didn't get out of bed in time to make your lunch so you go out to eat.  You begin to crash halfway through the afternoon so your back hitting the caffeine or a sugary snack.  You skip the gym because your motivation clocked out an hour before you did.  You stop for dinner on the way home because you don't want to cook.  You finally lay down to sleep but can't because your body's going crazy from all the caffeine drank and  the sugars that were in all your processed foods.  Now you're going to get another night of little or bad sleep and tomorrow the cycle will start anew.  Again, the math does not add up to weight loss with a day to day routine like that.

Moral of the story: If you get enough good sleep, you will probably weigh less.  If lack of sleep and a bulging waste line seem to be an issue that you face, I've got a challenge for you.

3 Week Better Sleep & Weigh Less Challenge:

At Night

• Set a consistent sleep schedule.  Allow for 7-8 hours of sleep each night and wake up at the same time every morning.  No, you don't sleep in on the weekends.  Your body needs a routine.
• Take all distractions out of the bedroom.  No TV.  No phones.  No computers.  No tablets.
• Don't eat a large meal within 2 hours of going to bed.  
• Don't exercise within 4 hours of going to bed.

Your Day

• Eat breakfast.
• Take your lunch to work.  Don't forget your vegetables.
• Prepare dinner at home.  Again, don't forget your veggies.  Try to stay away from processed foods.
• Don't drink any caffeine after 2 pm. 
• Cut you alcohol consumption in half.
• Schedule 30 minutes of moderate exercise 6 days of the week.

Again, if a lack of sleep and a bulging waste line seem to be an issue that you face, I challenge you to follow this few steps for three weeks.  If you're up for the challenge, I want you to keep me posted as to the challenges you're facing and any results that you are seeing.  -jason b.