does sleep help lose weight?

soulynyc

How many hours of sleep do you get? i'm getting around 4 1/2 before i have to wake up at dawn.. then i am awake for 1 hour and go back to bed for about 2 hours. So im getting a total of aruond 6/12 hours of sleep. I am going to bed around midnight to 1am. what time do you get to bed? do you find it helpful in weight loss?

lacroyx

on work days I go to bed around 2-3pm. I average 6-8 hrs. non-broken up sleep. yes it does. I notice I'll drop weight too.

moepwr

I was wondering about this too. I am up twice or more a night with kids. I haven't slept in about a year.

chubbster17

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120417080350.htm Lack of sleep can contribute to obesity. :frown:

Kristinemomof3

I usually sleep 8 hours. I love my sleep!

Tempe729

Sleep is super important to weight loss! It's hard to come by, but if you can take a week or too and make yourself go to bed a bit earlier--give yourself 7-8hrs MINIMUM... I would suggest taking Melatonin though to help you sleep better. Melatonin is a natural chemical your body produces when you're tired to help you sleep, but they offer a vitamin supplement to help aid sleep. You won't have any drawbacks like you would from taking NyQuil or something similar since it's a chemical your body already produces. I've been taking melatonin for a few years now, especially since I've been going to school full-time on top of working graveyard shifts. Start out with 3mg just before bed (6mg tops) until your body adjusts. :flowerforyou: You can buy the vitamins at any major grocery store or pharmacy and you don't need a perscription and its relatively cheap (maybe $6-$8 for 100-day supply) so if you find it doesn't help you won't be out much... Good luck!

kirstand

the way i see it...the longer the time you are asleep, the less you are going to be able to eat if you were still awake.
wish i could practice what i preach though, lol!...i'm a night owl, and struggle with the odd late/mid-night snack or two!

JanetLM73

It's strange because before I joined here and started working out I slept 7-8 hours a night, now that I'm working out 6 sometimes 7 days a week, I'm lucky if I get 4 or 5 per night, and I'm losing weight every week.

soulynyc

i don't have problems going to sleep. i have problems getting to bed LOL. i want to chat or do stuff around the house late cause the kids are in bed and i have "Me" time. but i think i need more sleep. i notice that when i get extra sleep i tend to lose more.for instance i may wake up at 5am weigh myself.. get back to bed at 5:30 or 6am.. wake at 9am and weigh myself again and im down at least .6 or more sometimes.

Dozrzz

I feel better when I get at least 6 hours sleep. I don't know how much difference it makes in my weight loss but I do know that if I do not get enough sleep then I am cranky and then I don't want to workout, or eat right, or anything. I just a bowl of mac n cheese and a nap! hahahaha

mallory3411

I'm sure it does and there are numerous studies out there that a proper nights sleep can lead to lower weight.

I wish I could get a full nights sleep most nights. I work shifts between days and afternoons so it's tough to have a normal sleep schedule... add in random days off during the week along with everything that needs to be done at home and it's tough.

Get what you can. Try to get more... could be difficult since you may have to give up something you'd usually be doing in favour of getting to bed earlier.

stickwithme

I'm like you and I have trouble GOING to bed. In fact I should be doing that right now!
Unfortunately it gets to be quite a problem, because I end up getting very little sleep for weeks on end, sometimes as little as 3 or 4 hours a night and this affects my life in all sorts of ways. I find that I generally have less control of myself, my emotions and... my eating habits! In fact I think a good share of the problems I've had with food are down to not getting enough sleep. It's as though I'm trying to make up for lack of energy by trying to get it from food, but of course it doesn't work like that.

So yes, although what I'm saying isn't scientific, I would say that getting enough sleep helps you lose weight, if for no other reason than that it might stop you putting extra on!