Has anyone noticed if sleep affects your weight loss?

fastfoodietofitcutie

I’m not talking about lack of sleep and no time to cook so you wind up eating junk food, but just lack of sleep impacting weight loss because of hormonal changes or other internal changes. Just wondering if it really makes a difference to maintain a sleep schedule and sleep well.

netitheyeti

I notice I tend to be super hungry when I don't get enough sleep, it completely messes up my hunger levels and makes it hard not to go over my calories

Diatonic12

Yes.

"Conclusion: Short sleep is significantly associated with weight gain and obesity in both male and female adults."



"Sleep is an important modulator of neuroendocrine function and glucose metabolism and sleep loss has been shown to result in metabolic and endocrine alterations, including decreased glucose tolerance, decreased insulin sensitivity, increased evening concentrations of cortisol, increased levels of ghrelin, decreased levels of leptin, and increased hunger and appetite. Recent epidemiological and laboratory evidence confirm previous findings of an association between sleep loss and increased risk of obesity."

Keywords: ghrelin, leptin, obesity, sleep duration, sleep quality


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632337/


https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20175399/


https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21892668/

cmriverside

Lack of sleep will increase stress hormones, so it will affect weight loss. How much? I don't know.

I'm sure there's plenty of research you can find on that.

zebasschick

i've read that theory, but lack of sleep only affects my weight loss because i eat tiny meals every 2 to 2 1/2 hours, and staying up an extra 2 1/2 hours means i get hungry enough to eat 200 to 250 more calories. if i sleep five hours per day, that adds up to an average of 6750 extra calories per month. in a year, that would mean putting on over 20 pounds.

when i was unable to sleep more than 4 hours a night due to stress, but used to eat fewer, larger meals and didn't snack extra, it didn't affect me in terms of weight loss or gain.

hipari

In 2016 I successfully and fairly easily lost 10-15lbs in 6 months (can't remember the exact amount). In 2017 I really struggled and hung on the yo-yo, despite nothing really changing from 2016. In the beginning of 2018 I met with a wellness coach, went over both years and my habits in detail, and she pointed out that in 2016 I slept 30-60 minutes more per night. That's it, the only change right there. I've been a believer ever since.

Of course sleep is not the only thing to fix, otherwise I would have been at goal weight for a while now. Even so, I find that making an effort to focus on diet and exercise takes a lot more energy and seems to produce less results if I don't sleep properly.

janejellyroll

My personal experience: my weight behaves as I expect when I have periods of not being able to sleep well due to anxiety or personal circumstance (like work). However, these periods have rarely been prolonged (nothing more than a few weeks at a time), so I think it's possible that those who have more extended periods of poor/low sleep could see more of an impact.

Basically the only thing I notice is that after a day or two of bad sleep, I begin to crave all the candy in the world.

Even if it didn't impact my weight, I find that I feel better overall when I have a regular sleep schedule. I have more energy, my mood is better, and the world just seems like a more pleasant place. Even without weight implications, that's enough of a reason for me to focus on it.

kshama2001

netitheyeti wrote: »

I notice I tend to be super hungry when I don't get enough sleep, it completely messes up my hunger levels and makes it hard not to go over my calories

This is me as well.

RelCanonical

I think the hormone impact is on appetite rather than any direct impact on weight, and personally, I can't stop eating if I lack sleep. I think I see food as energy and a way to stay awake.

sardelsa

It has never had any effect on me personally. I don't get hungrier either. Maybe my body is used to 4-5 hours of broken-up sleep, if I was getting less then that could be a problem.

AnnPT77

For me, poor sleep leads to fatigue. Fatigue can mean

* compromised workout intensity (lowered calorie burn),
* not feeling like doing as much in daily life chores (more lowered calorie burn),
* increased appetite/cravings (body seeking energy boost, I assume),
* reduced willpower (can affect workouts, chores, eating, or all of those),

. . . so there's a decent chance poor sleep will make it harder for me to lose weight through various mechanisms. If I white-knuckle through it, push myself hard somehow on the activity front, don't give in to cravings, etc., any bad effects can be blunted.

So, personal answer: Yes, but IME through kind of obvious means, not secret hormone conspiracies (though I expect hormones drive some of the visible effects like cravings).

I'm a poster child for bad sleep hygiene habits, have sleep apnea, tend to jaw-clench during sleep, and a bunch of other stuff, so it's an ongoing saga. I do try to do better, and did manage to lose weight.

lgfrie

I have somewhat significant insomnia issues, it runs in the family. I am pretty acquainted with measuring my weight loss progress on weeks/months when I'm sleeping better (cumulative 6+ hours overnight) vs worse (sub 5 hours, sometimes a lot less than 5 hours). I count under 4 hours as being an insomniac night, and I have plenty of those.

Bottom line: yes, sleep impacts weight loss. At least for me, the more sleep, the more the weight loss, less sleep = less weight loss. Not huge, but enough to measure. So if a "perfect" weight loss month for me would generate 5 lbs of weight loss, a month of crappy sleep of 4-5 hours a night vs 6 hrs might be 4.3. It's measurable.

I eat a very consistent diet, measure and log everything, so this assertion of mine is independent of any "I was tired so I ate more" type stuff. I don't eat more when I'm tired / underslept. I just lose less weight.

MikePfirrman

Related to sleep and weight loss. I snore. In the past, like REALLY loud. I loaded a fantastic app called SnoreLab last year. It's free and it literally records and rates your snoring while you sleep, helping you to understand patterns and, hopefully, give you insight into lowering the sound of your snoring and getting better quality sleep.

They also suggest exercises for your tongue and mouth on a separate app that they sell -- it's like five bucks. That's called Snore Gym. All I know is that my snoring has gone from an 80 or 90 down to the 20s on the loudness scale. When I gained around 10 lbs over the Holidays, my snoring loudness soared.

Sleep is so important for your health. Protect it as well as possible and keep a schedule if you can.

NovusDies

fastfoodietofitcutie wrote: »

I’m not talking about lack of sleep and no time to cook so you wind up eating junk food, but just lack of sleep impacting weight loss because of hormonal changes or other internal changes. Just wondering if it really makes a difference to maintain a sleep schedule and sleep well.

If you are talking about short term scale results the added stress of not sleeping can increase water retention and the weight that goes with it. My scale moves SLIGHTLY more predictably when I sleep better.

As others have mentioned it can have a direct impact on your hunger. It can certainly affect your patience and your desire to remain compliant. A sleep deprived person may catch more cases of the "I don't cares".

It cannot actually keep you from losing weight though if you do remain consistent. It might mask your fat loss on the scale but if you are in a calorie deficit your body must get the energy it is not getting from food from energy stored in your body. This will result in a reduction of (hopefully mostly) fat.