Can poor sleep really make you gain belly fat?

rudyzenreviews

We all know diet and exercise are big factors in weight loss, but sleep often gets overlooked. Studies show that when we don’t get enough sleep (less than 6–7 hours a night), our bodies produce more cortisol, the “stress hormone.” High cortisol is linked to storing more fat around the belly.

On top of that, poor sleep also increases hunger hormones (ghrelin) and decreases satiety hormones (leptin). That’s why after a bad night’s sleep you might crave snacks, carbs, and sugar more than usual.

So yes, poor sleep doesn’t directly “make” you fat, but it can make it much harder to control appetite, stick to your calorie goals, and avoid storing fat around the midsection.

How many hours of sleep do you usually get, and do you notice it affecting your hunger or weight?

AnnPT77

Not enough hours, and definitely not quality. (I have sleep apnea, which is successfully treated; and sleep interruption insomnia, which isn't.)

Garmin thinks I average a little over 8 hours of sleep per day, over the past year . . . but I know it's a lying liar that lies. It routinely thinks I'm asleep when I'm awake, occasionally thinks I'm awake when asleep, and its overnight result was laughably out of sync with results from an in-hospital sleep study the same night.

I recently - ugh - went through a several weeks of even worse sleep after my CPAP (treatment for the apnea) broke, and I had trouble getting a new one. Yes, my appetite increased . . . especially night-time cravings, as a person might expect. I'm back to CPAP now, and it's improving. That episode didn't have major effect on my weight, thankfully, but I'm in maintenance and have been calorie counting for over 10 years. I can usually keep things on the more positive side, even if there's some loss of best habits for a while.

fragmentedangel

I have fibromyalgia. Unfortunately my sleep is splotchy and broken at best. There really isn't anything that i can do to fix that. I have naps when needed but realistically my best shot is just to focus on the things that i CAN control. Quality of the foods that i eat, quality ingredients, portion sizes. And exercise in ways that benefit me and don't increase my pain levels.

AnnPT77

Afterthought: Sleep quality/quantity does - per research - seem to have some effect on storage of visceral fat - the kind of fat inside the body cavity, in/around internal organs. That's the most health-threatening type of fat.

Various other things also affect visceral fat, like stress, nutrition, exercise, alcohol intake. There are scenarios (in research) where people lose visceral fat even at relatively constant weight, a plus for health (and potentially for waist circumferance).

Fat gain/loss generally is about calorie intake, but visceral fat vs. subcutaneous fat (the kind that's a layer between skin and muscle) is about more than just calories.

p0psec3

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DiscusTank5

In my experience, no. I'm perimenopausal and have also lost 50+ pounds this past year. My hip joints hurt a lot (vit D deficiency) and I've been getting worse sleep than at any other time in my life except when I had a newborn, yet the weight loss continues.

I always get more than 5 hours of sleep a night, usually 6-7 with one or two trips to the bathroom, but a "good" night of sleep for me would be 8 hours and I only get that once a week, usually.

Also: my belly is the first place I lose weight, always has been.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@DiscusTank5 : Very impressive! Don't you think it makes it harder, though?

Controlling your eating doesn't come naturally. We evolved to eat extra when possible, and for many of us lucky people, it's possible to eat extra almost all the time. It requires an rational override to curtail eating, and our rationality is compromised when we haven't had enough sleep. It's also harder to do any exercise or be generally active without adequate sleep.

Not that we all can do anything about it! Gaining control of sleep is elusive!

DiscusTank5

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48770121#Comment_48770121

Oh definitely. Low / bad quality sleep makes everything harder.

fragmentedangel

I have fibromyalgia. Unfortunately this comes with chronic fatigue and poor broken sleep. There's nothing i can do about this. With a diet geared to being healthy and keeping me full on less and regular exercise at my fitness level I've dropped 8 pounds in the last month. It may not seem like a lot but it's progress and i am happy with it. Being tired from not enough sleep has never stopped me or compromised my rationality. I can't let it. Just as i can't let it or pain stop me from being active. I did that for too long. That and mild hypothyroidism are why i hit 235 pounds. I turn 50 in a few months. I don't want to start another decade of life not taking care of myself. I will not let my health be an excuse anymore.

avatiach

I don’t know about belly fat, but when I am sleep deprived I definitely crave sweet high calorie things like chocolate and ice cream, and I have less willpower