Napping

Cinarocket

Hello,

I'm not very well documented on how sleep correlates with eating and health in general. I know it must matter some but i'm really not sure how and how much.

Last couple months, I've been losing at a pace that i'm very happy with. It was summer and holiday so I could pretty much wake up when I wanted (most of the time it was noon-ish) have my 3 meals then go to bed fairly late 3am ish without napping at all.

Now i've just started school again and here come the painful morning wake-ups I know that the standard and easy answer will be "go to bed earlier" but I actually have always had trouble since I was kid finding sleep if i went to bed too early and have to purposely get very tired till at least 1-2 a.m. if i want to sleep fairly quickly. If i go to bed at say 11pm i'll just roll around for 3hours before I find sleep.

This result in me undersleeping most days of the week (5-6 hours sleep) and then I have to go to school (I have breakfast) after which uses a lot of my energy but i'm fine i'm used to being up without much sleep but whenever I finish school early (1pm or so) all I want is that holy nap (2-3 hours long) cause I can barely stand up and I want to catch some sleep back. I'd do it just after my lunch and i'll wake up around 4p.m. or so get back to my life without a problem, feeling better and the same routine over and over.

I'd like to know if me napping 2-3 hours a day could possibly hurt my weight loss, I'm also interested as of why and what's the best way to adjust to my tiredness without a nap. I've been hearing napping may be bad (i get that i'm not burning any calories by napping) but if those rumours happen to be wrong then i'll happily have my daily nap whenever I need to!

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

Weight loss correlates to the number of calories eaten. Perhaps hunger cues could be messed up, but I really don't see a problem if you're tracking effectively.

I used to have to wake up early for work and would get off around 2 or 3. When I got home I would nap for a few hours before dinner and everything was fine. One thing I found to boost sleep is to ramp up your workout during the day.

AnjaliSD

While not getting enough sleep can increase your cortisol (stress hormone) levels, and can hinder your weight loss, I have never read anything with regards to negative effects from napping. So long as your naps aren't making you groggy and unproductive, I can't see an issue.

As someone who also has a very hard time getting to sleep at a decent hour myself, I feel your pain. It's definitely better to get enough sleep over a day, even if it's in odd chunks, than it is to deprive yourself of enough sleep. Both for your weightloss and general health.

Liftng4Lis

I don't see how napping could possible affect your weight loss. NOT sleeping on the other hand, well that's a different story.

shadow2soul

The only way I could see it hurting your weight loss is if you end up consuming more calories than you burn. That however shouldn't be a problem if your tracking here.

I take naps occasionally. I have a 2yr old and a 3 month old. My 3 month old doesn't always let me sleep through the night and as such I end up taking a nap around 3pm when they both take a nap. Currently my routine has me going to bed around midnight and getting up between 6-8am (although only averaging around 4hrs of actual sleep). I've noticed that for me, I'm more likely to want to over eat if I get tired and don't go to bed or take a nap. That's just me though.

Raynne413

Napping won't hurt weight loss, and can actually help your body recover.

If I notice that I don't have the energy for workouts that I normally do, I will take a nap when I come home from work instead of working out, and I generally will have better workouts after that. I think NOT having sleep would be MORE harmful.

newhealthykim

I would suggest a sleep study if you can. I had one done after I was repeatedly falling asleep at work. I found out I have a sleeping disorder (unspecified). I've been on medication for over a year, and I have had no problems since .

AllOutof_Bubblegum

There are tricks to try to expedite falling asleep at night. Avoiding computer or tv screens an hour beforehand, drinking an herbal tea, lavender essential oil, taking a warm shower or bath 30-45 before bed, etc. There are lots of tips online. Experiment until you find one that works for you.