sleep and weight loss

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cailinlowe
cailinlowe Posts: 161 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
are there any studies or do any of you have experience with whether or not how much/little you're sleeping has to do with your weight loss?

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  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    My understanding (and personal experience) is that getting adequate sleep helps with weight loss because people tend to eat more/less healthy when they are tired. I don't know the studies, though.
  • Shua89
    Shua89 Posts: 144 Member
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    There have been many studies done on this and if you google it you'll find a lot of articles about it. Bottom line is for optimum weight loss you need eight hours of sleep at night.
  • readthat
    readthat Posts: 136
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    I have read and heard when you sleep something is produced that helps curb hunger and stabilize things during the day. SO if you aren't sleeping, that is why you tend to snack more often. I do find this to be true with myself.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    There have been some studies recently that have shown that getting enough sleep does effect weight loss because sleep effects the hormones leptin and ghrelin. There's a decent article in laymans' terms on webmd about it:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-while-sleeping


    The way I figure it is that anything sensible that gives me a little boost for weight loss is a good thing. With all the crazy things out there that people try (cabbage soup diet?! tapeworms?!!!) why wouldn't you try something as simple as getting enough sleep?
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    My personal experience is when I lack sleep I gain weight. Sleep is very important to me especially since I work graveyard. If I lack sleep, I graze on food through out the night to help me stay awake which leads to going over my calorie allowance and I don't bother working out since I am too tired.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    When you do not sleep enough, it alters your hormones. One part affects your hunger, making you desire more food throughout the day for energy, and another part raises your overall stress levels.

    Prolonged, elevated stress can make it difficult to use fat as energy.

    Both of these can be overcome, but it is significantly easier to simply get the extra sleep.

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