Not Getting Enough Zzz’s Can Make You Gain Weight

Indeed, you learn something new everyday. Take for instance that one teeny-weeny detail about sleep: it can help you lose weight – or at least reduce your chances of gaining more poundage! Who would have thought, right?

There goes that common myth that losing sleep causes you to lose weight. How can getting enough sleep make you lose weight?

Chain Reaction
It’s actually a simple matter of connecting the dots. When you are sleep-deprived, you feel lethargic; you do not have the right amount of energy to complete your tasks for the day, and you’re probably going to be in a foul mood all day, too.

To remedy all of these symptoms, your instinct would be to get coffee, go get chips, binge on sweets and pretty much go on a sugar-high all day so you can function as best you could under the circumstances.

You reach for all the comfort foods you can get your hands on and “comfort” yourself for being sleep-deprived. As you try to appease your lethargic body with junk foods, you are also feeding it with large amounts of salt, sugar and calories.

With all the sweets and junk you’ve taken all day, you might have trouble sleeping again at night. The cycle repeats itself the following day. It’s a series of unfortunate events and the one that bears the brunt is your body.

Ghrelin and Leptin
Ghrelin and Leptin is not a comic duo but they are a duo nonetheless – their partnership is in your body. They are your “go and stop” hormones. Particularly, ghrelin is your “go eat” hormone and leptin is your “stop eating” hormone.

What happens to these two when you do not get the right amount of sleep?
Studies show that when you are sleep-deprived, your body produces less of the “stop” hormone, leptin and more of the “go” hormone, ghrelin. Are you beginning to see the connection now?

With more ghrelin in your body, you will have frequent hunger pangs because your body is telling you to go and eat.

With not much of leptin telling your body that you are already full and satiated, your tendency will be to keep eating until you feel satisfied.

So basically, under-sleeping causes over-eating. It’s an unhealthy equation that happens to all of us. Therefore, if you are on a weight loss program, lack of sleep won’t help you achieve your ideal weight.

If anything, it will cause you to double your weight, if sleep deprivation is a common occurrence in your life.

In addition, when you are sleep-deprived, your metabolism is slower which translates to your body burning less calories.

Don’t Lose Sleep Again
So now we know that losing sleep does not only make you tired and lethargic the following day but it also causes us to gain weight. Next on the agenda therefore is to do whatever it takes to not lose sleep ever again.

If you lost sleep the previous night, it means that you may have already reached for that bag of chips or those sweets plus downed several cups of coffee. Try to flush out the sugar and caffeine by drinking lots of water.

Also, consciously make the effort to not eat anything sweet or take anything with caffeine and high carbohydrate content late in the afternoon so you won’t be jumpy and restless all night.

Lastly, refrain from heavy meals before bedtime because our body will not be able to burn all the fats and calories when it is in repose.

Jenny is a free lancer and content builder of health related articles and now a days she is doing work how to gain weight.