Wondering what sleeping has to do with weight loss? You might follow the best diet and have a great fitness regime and you follow them religiously. Yet you don’t see the results that are expected. Why? Then, the answer is quite simple. You are not getting enough sleep.
1. Science behind sleeping: If you are not getting a good sleep, your body cooks up a perfect recipe for weight gain. Insufficient sleep affects the release of hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin signals hunger to the brain whereas leptin signals fullness to the brain. In short, the brain releases more Ghrelin and less leptin thereby increasing your appetite.
2. Increase in stress levels: Poor sleep also leads to release of stress hormone Cortisol which results in increase in stress levels.
3. Hate to hit the gym: Think of a day when you haven’t slept well. What do you feel? Firstly, you will feel exhausted and feel so tired that you won’t be able to move your feet and hitting your gym or doing any physical activity will be the last thing in the world you will do. It’s a simple maths, no calories burnt so no loss in weight.
4. Decision making: Yes, sleep does affect your decision making be it a simple one or a complex one. Poor sleep will make your day dull and you will feel as though you are drunk. You won’t be able to say no to the extra servings, you won’t feel like hitting the gym. You will choose high calorie food despite knowing that you aren’t supposed to have it.
5. Insulin levels: Poor sleep makes your body cells resistant to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that converts the sugars in your blood to energy. If your cells are insulin resistant then your blood will have higher sugar levels and the body responds to this situation by producing more insulin which makes you feel hungry and the body stores more calories as fat. The worst part is not only you will gain weight but you are more likely to get type 2 diabetes.