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For people trying to lose weight, the amount of sleep you get may be just as important as your diet and exercise. Poor sleep is a major risk factor for weight gain and obesities.
Sleep is an important aspect of rest and recovery when it comes to sports performance. Athletes who are sleep deprived are at risk of losing aerobic endurance and may experience subtle changes in hormone levels, which can lead to higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) as well as a decrease in human growth hormone, which is active during tissue repair.
This is likely caused by the impact of sleep on two important hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin.
Ghrelin is a hormone released in the stomach that signals hunger in the brain. Levels are high before you eat, which is when the stomach is empty, and low after you eat.
Leptin is a hormone released from fat cells. It suppresses hunger and signals fullness in the brain. To read more about it, please read Leptin – The fat burning switch.
When you do not get adequate sleep, the body makes more ghrelin and less leptin, leaving you hungry and increasing your appetite. This seriously affects your fat loss goals.
Sleep deprivation will actually dull activity in the frontal lobe of the brain. The frontal lobe is in charge of decision-making and self-control. You will be more prone to go for sweets and sugars. A mid day snacking or even binging often results. i This can seriously affect your fat loss goals.
Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body burns when you’re completely at rest. It’s affected by age, weight, height, sex and muscle mass. Sleep deprivation will make you go to a cocoon and stay at a lethargic state.
A lack of sleep can cause daytime fatigue, making you less likely and less motivated to exercise. In addition, you’re more likely to get tired earlier during physical activity. Even sleep deprivation can cause decreased strength during weight training.
Poor sleep can cause cells to become insulin resistant. Even few days of sleep deprivation makes you pre-diabetic. Thus, during sleep deprivation induced insulin resistance, you secrete more and more insulin. Your fat loss comes to standstill. Please remember, fat loss is extremely tough in high insulin environment. To know more, please read
Insulin, fat and insulin resistance.
[…] Sleep is extremely important for several reasons. Proper sound sleep for a minimum of 7 to 8 hours is an absolute necessity for muscle growth. With sleep deprivation, you can neither gain muscles nor lose fat effectively. Human Growth hormone and testosterone are the hormones for muscle growth. These hormone levels are increased in sleep. The slow wave stage of deep sleep helps the most. Also read the post : Importance of proper sleep in weight loss. […]