Lack of sleep.

aschroeder2749

How much can this affect one's weight loss journey? Example: What if I haven't had more than 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time in over a year? (My son was born December last year, and has some problems that interfere with sleep.)

Skarlet13

Apparently lack of sleep contributes to hunger, but I'm not so sure.

aschroeder2749

I am by no means blaming my situation on the lack of sleep. (My problem is undoubtedly self control.) But a lot of posts on here suggest that it's very important to get the 8 hours of sleep, and I'm wondering exactly in what way it affects weight loss.

kaylorraine44

It can definitely effect your energy level which can make it hard to work out or make you more prone to overeating. When I had an undiagnosed thyroid issue, the lack of energy really got to me and the weight piled on. It completely depends upon you though - some people are able to function fine on a limited amount of sleep.

ponycyndi

My own anecdotal evidence- when I'm sleepy, I feel ravenous and eat more than when I get the nine hours I know I need.

unFATuated

Personally when I was sleep deprived (I also have a child, though mine is now thankfully sleeping better than she was) I was looking for foods to help keep my energy levels up. Usually it was things like sugary snacks, coffee and other caffeinated beverages because they would give me a quick boost (as opposed to other foods which release their energy more slowly but over a longer period). However, because the boost was quick, the crash was also as quick and I would have to top up with more sugary, caffeinated things. Vicious cycle. I was eating far more calories than I needed to because of my consumption of these things. Hence I gained weight.

I am no expert, nor have I read many studies on the subject, but my understanding is that lack of quality sleep is also linked with disruptions to hormones in the body which impact on weight control and hunger.

Jkn921

As lack of sleep causes my emotional state to spiral, I find myself a little hungrier than normal to make myself feel better. Seems like a big deal to me personally.

lk43m

research shows that lack of sleep is significantly correlated to overweight and obesity i.e huge link between the two. I believe it's got to do with 1) over eating and snacking when awake as you have more hours to eat and 2) appetite hormones don't reset themselves. Either way I can't wait for my 23month old to sleep a full night as I've not had a full night sleep in over 6 years (eldest is 5) and have weigh to lose

gigglesinthesun

technically if you sleep less and move more you'd think you burn more cals, but I feel that long-term lack of sleep (my daughter is 4 and had various medical issues so she's really only started to sleep through in the last 6 months, before that I had to get up 2-3 times) causes you both to crave high sugar food and makes you more lethargic overall (thus burning less calories throughout the day overall)

I feel for you and it will get better, just hold on. Once my daughter started sleeping through and I got a couple of weeks of solid sleep, I actually found I had energy to go for a walk or go to aqua aerobics. I was less hungry and actually able to calorie count, before it just all seemed too much. :flowerforyou:

ILoveGingerNut

Lack of sleep affects your stress hormones and appetite hormones

Jestinia

My own anecdotal evidence- when I'm sleepy, I feel ravenous and eat more than when I get the nine hours I know I need.

Me too. If I've learned anything during my weight loss and maintenance attempts, it's to treasure my sleep.

ILoveGingerNut

Lack of sleep affects your stress hormones and appetite hormones

There is scientific evidence - some of the hormones involved are cortisol, leptin and ghrelin

Jkn921

Want to say I experienced this yesterday - I was the appetite of an elephant and now I've had good sleep my appetite has gone back to normal...tip: get good sleep.

willdob3

My persnal experience is that the scale goes up when I am sleep deprived. The scale doesn't tell thevreal story though. The tape measure sayxs more I lose fewer inches when I don't get enough sleep regularly. A sleep-deprived month means not-so-good monthly fat losses. This is even if I am eating 100% on plan, no excess calories.

LVCeltGirl

Personally for me, if I don't get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep, my scale goes up not down (I always weigh in the morning before eating or drinking anything). It's not by a whole lot and it happens regardless of how I did the day before (so I may have had a perfect day, logged everything, got some exercise and drank my gallon of water). I don't notice unusual hunger, and generally speaking I also do not experience a significant loss of energy (a little bit but not enough that I couldn't push through and workout).

BikerGirlElaine

I am by no means blaming my situation on the lack of sleep. (My problem is undoubtedly self control.) But a lot of posts on here suggest that it's very important to get the 8 hours of sleep, and I'm wondering exactly in what way it affects weight loss.

OK, don't ask me for sources, but this is what I remember reading when I was struggling with sleep.


1. It doesn't have to be 8 hours. People vary in how much sleep they need. So if you only need 7 hours, and you get it, it's fine.

2. Naps, if they are long enough, are as restorative as sleeping the night through. A sleep cycle is about 90 minutes, and if you get enough 90-minute cycles you'll be OK overall. So... a three hour nap is probably two sleep cycles. A 4 1/2 hour nap is about three. But a four hour nap is as helpful to your body as a three hour one -- if you interrupt the cycle, it's of little benefit to your body.

Hope that helps a little! And like others, I know that when I'm tired I'm way more hungry.

alienrite

Sleep is so critical for me and I'm pretty focused on getting at least 7 hrs most nights. The minimum amount varies from person to person. When you don't meet your minimum, it will stress your system. Losing weight or increasing your fitness level also stresses your system, as does work, family, money, etc.. In the end, there are only so many stressors at one time before our systems start getting out of balance. Getting enough sleep is something I can mostly schedule with a little focus and it helps me deal with the stressors that I cannot control and have enough capacity to work on losing weight and increasing my fitness level. When I lose control of my sleep, I do rapidly push myself out of balance and often lose the ability to focus on maintaining a calorie deficit or training. I watch it happen time and time again to my friends here too.

IronPhyllida

My own anecdotal evidence- when I'm sleepy, I feel ravenous and eat more than when I get the nine hours I know I need.

9 hours?! Wow.....

coccodrillo72

How much can this affect one's weight loss journey? Example: What if I haven't had more than 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time in over a year? (My son was born December last year, and has some problems that interfere with sleep.)

Lack of sleep have a major effect on weight regulation.

The reasons are not entirely clear.

In a sleep deprived state the secretions of ghrelin increases while leptin decreases. "Leptin and ghrelin are two hormones that have been recognized to have a major influence on energy balance. Leptin is a mediator of long-term regulation of energy balance, suppressing food intake and thereby inducing weight loss. Ghrelin on the other hand is a fast-acting hormone, seemingly playing a role in meal initiation" (Obes Rev. 2007 Jan;8(1):21-34. The role of leptin and ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and body weight in humans: a review. Klok MD, Jakobsdottir S, Drent ML.)

Besides sleep loss affects the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite. So if you don't sleep you may continue to feel hungry despite adequate food intake.

As a consequence sleep deprivation reduces energy expenditure: "In comparison with normal sleep, resting and postprandial energy expenditures assessed on the subsequent morning were significantly reduced after sleep deprivation by ≈5% and 20%, respectively" (Acute sleep deprivation reduces energy expenditure in healthy men http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/93/6/1229.abstract?sid=ee6e80cd-d844-4103-ade3-82d9b41b9357)

But there is more: sleep deprivation hinders the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates, which leads to high levels of blood sugar which in turns triggers the overproduction of insulin, which can lead to the storage of body fat and insulin resistance.

Sleep deprivation influences the amount of fat and fat free mass lost in a reduced-calorie diet (that is: if you diet and don't sleep enough you lose less fat and more LBM): "Sleep curtailment decreased the proportion of weight lost as fat by 55% and increased the loss of fat-free body mass by 60%. This was accompanied by markers of enhanced neuroendocrine adaptation to caloric restriction, increased hunger, and a shift in relative substrate utilization toward oxidation of less fat." (Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=746184).

As a final note I can offer my own anecdotal evidence: I have a 3 and 1/2 years old son who has trouble sleeping for various medical reasons - and when I say trouble I mean that he wakes up an average of 10 times each night, every night, so I have not slept for more than 5 hours since he was born (my wife and I still take turns). In this time frame I have gained a lot of weight but I am also losing it now, so it's possible to do it, only harder.

aschroeder2749

Thank you coccodrillo72, that's exactly the type of info I was looking for. My son doesn't wake up that much, thank goodness, but my husband doesn't take turns with me. Heh. :-) Here's hoping we can get more sleep soon!

linsey0689

How is your energy level? If you're so tired you don't feel like doing a whole like then what would be bad.

And when you say four hours do you mean that's all you get in the whole day? Or like 4 hours then tend to the baby for an hour then back to bed? I think that's perfectly fine but if all you are getting is 4 hours total that's not good. If your body is chronically exhausted your metabolism may slow down