Can you lose weight sleeping? What I mean is if you sleep more will you lose those extra pounds? According to science an extra 90 minutes of sleep a night will help you shed extra pounds. A study done by King’s College London scientists showed that people who sleep longer are less likely to eat higher carb foods which cause weight gain.
Other studies have shown that people at sleep less than 7 hours a night are typically heavier, have a harder time losing weight, and gain more weight over time. So how can you loose weight sleeping?
It has been known for a long time that a one of the big risk factors for obesity was a lack of sleep because it changes the levels of hormones which control your appetite. But interestingly this study showed that when people got more sleep, they naturally would reach for healthier foods and on average ate 10 less grams of sugar every day.
“The fact that extending sleep lead to a reduction in intake of free sugars – the sugars that are added to foods by manufacturers or in cooking at home as well as sugars and honey, syrup and fruit juice – suggests a simple change in lifestyle may really help people to consume healthier diets” said principal investigator Dr. Wendy Hall from the University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences.
This study consisted of 21 volunteers that slept for less than 7 hours a night, they were sent also for counseling to help change their sleep habits. They kept with a consistent time for going to bed and did eat food before bedtime or drank caffeinated drinks. Gradually 90 extra minutes of sleep was added to their week and as a result they naturally were eating less sugar and carbs when they were before. The control group who were not getting extra sleep saw no change in their eating pattern.
Not enough sleep is one of the 5 reasons why you may be having trouble losing weight.
Other Benefits of More Sleep
The other benefit of getting to bed earlier is that it will stop your late night snacking and reduce the calories you are eating on a daily basis – so you really do lose weight sleeping. If you get more rest and have more energy during the day you will also burn more calories. Also if you’ve ever had a bad night’s sleep and then had brain fog the next day you know how you brain functions differently with lack of sleep. This in turn will lower your inhibitions and you’ll have a greater tendency to overeat.
The good news is that sleep patterns are something that is relatively easy to change. For most people it may not be easier to get up later in the morning because of commitments however many people are able to find ways to get to bed earlier in the evening.
As a result of increasing the amount of time that you sleep – perhaps by going to bed an hour or 90 minutes earlier, or by using a weighted blanket, will result in much healthier food choices during the day and improve your waistline over time.
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Considering all the other benefits that more sleep has to offer, it’s certainly worth a try to lose weight sleeping! Good night ….