Can insmonia mess with your weight loss?

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BekShark
BekShark Posts: 55 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering? Can it slow or stall it, even if you are sticking to you goals?

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  • NereyaRanVihn
    NereyaRanVihn Posts: 43 Member
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    Yes. Here's an article about it from webmd.com
    http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
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    Getting enough sleep is very important, a quick google search yielded more results to support that than I care to link.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    I am a diagnosed insomniac. And yes, it can absolutely affect weight loss.
  • Biggirllittledreams
    Biggirllittledreams Posts: 306 Member
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    Well technically your weight is strictly calories in versus calories expended.

    That being said, i've come to find that my insomnia (ranging from mild to very severe at times) really had an impact on my appetite, and the foods i craved. When i stayed up late i often found myself rather binge eating, or over-eating (regardless of how much or little i ate during the day). I've also come to find that i make poorer food choices the next day, if i don't rest much the day before (obviously my body requiring more energy).....usually foods that would give me immediate energy, but not sustainable energy.

    That's just me though, and our bodies are all different. If you stick to your caloric limits regardless of your sleep, you would technically lose weight.
  • AshleyLeelette
    AshleyLeelette Posts: 46 Member
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    Agreed with the "If you stick with your caloric limits..." Despite insomnia. But also too, that sleep effects things that then effect your diet/choices. If daytime napping is a possibility, (and I know, for most it's not) it might help to do a task that NEEDS to get done, nap, and make yourself do some sort of warm-up after. Just a suggestion, but even if you can't get all the sleep you'd like, if you're doing things to help you feel energized in a healthy way, it could definitely help support better choices and keeping you on track! Best of luck!
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    I have insomnia and there are some weeks I hardly sleep at all. I've noticed my weight loss slows a bit during those times, but if I stick to my calorie goals it doesn't stop entirely.
  • BekShark
    BekShark Posts: 55 Member
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    Do any of you guys get the kind of insomnia where you wake up really early? I don't binge as much then as I do with the night time variety.

    I have definitely noticed major carb and sugar cravings when I can't sleep. I even got some night time sedation from my GP and it appears to have stopped working. I have tried exercising like a maniac and not too close to bed time. Still wake up around 2:00, of course, this could be bipolar related.

    I'm self employed, so a day time nap is feasible, but I often wake up feeling less fresh.

    Anyway, now I'm up, I might as well get some work done.

    Chat later peeps. ;-)
  • RubyRed76
    RubyRed76 Posts: 6 Member
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    I would think it can, as I know that I lose weight better when I sleep better/longer. No idea why that is, but for me it's just fact. I *can* (and do) still lose weight when I'm not sleeping well, but the weight seems to come off more easily (and more of it) when I'm getting at least seven good hours a night.

    I had a major insomnia problem for many years (several of which I was working an unpredictable shift pattern, which did NOT help), so you have my sympathy - insomnia is a miserable, miserable thing!
  • Donald_Dozier_50
    Donald_Dozier_50 Posts: 395 Member
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    My sleep problem goes far beyond insomnia but that being said, I don't think it affects my weight loss in a negative way. I go periods in excess of 12 days with absolutely no sleep or even resting.
  • lynbug217
    lynbug217 Posts: 15
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    follow
  • baba_helly
    baba_helly Posts: 810 Member
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    No, weight loss is purely calories in and calories out. If you consume less calories than you burn through normal daily activity and exercise (if applicable) you will lose weight. Although it is important to get enough sleep for obvious reasons that alone will not prevent you from losing weight or cause you to gain it. I have lost 91 lbs and get an average of 3-4 hr per night.
  • MonicaJumper
    MonicaJumper Posts: 43
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    For nighttime hunger and cravings that tend to come with insomnia, it helps to have something healthy already prepared that you can just grab and eat. Fruit salad, healthy oatmeal bars, hard-boiled eggs, things like that. My sleep pattern changes a lot and I often have to eat at night. I find that being prepared helps avoid unhealthy choices :)
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    Some hormones may be related to weight gain in people with insomnia:

    http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/03/30/hormones-link-insomnia-and-weight-gain/5037.html

    I typically have issues falling asleep. This kind of insomnia developed after I had general anesthesia. Although I'd always been a "night owl,," I developed a pronounced fear of dying in my sleep--I'd had difficulty coming out of anesthesia, which I remember to this day, and developed an irrational fear. Prior to that I was only prone to interrupted sleep. I'd fall asleep, then wake up part way through the night, and might or might not fall asleep again after that. Generally, I have a tiny window during which I can fall asleep again and if I miss it I might be up until my regular bedtime again. I don't usually eat when I get up, though. When I have those episode I'm interested in neither food nor sleep.
  • EvelineUK
    EvelineUK Posts: 97
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    So glad I found this thread as it's 5:20 on a Sunday morning and I've had a grand total of 1.5 hrs sleep at the beginning of my night... And this was the 2nd night this week that I had little or no sleep. I just can't shut my brain off... :(

    Thankfully I do not turn to food when I can't sleep, I drink herbal teas when I finally do get out of bed, but I'm sure the lack of sleep isn't doing me any good at all. I hate sleep medication as it makes you feel drowsy and I don't like that feeling, so not even sure if I should talk to my doctor about this, but oh how I wish I could get over this and just have a nice 7-8 hr sleep again....
  • BekShark
    BekShark Posts: 55 Member
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    So glad I found this thread as it's 5:20 on a Sunday morning and I've had a grand total of 1.5 hrs sleep at the beginning of my night... And this was the 2nd night this week that I had little or no sleep. I just can't shut my brain off... :(

    Thankfully I do not turn to food when I can't sleep, I drink herbal teas when I finally do get out of bed, but I'm sure the lack of sleep isn't doing me any good at all. I hate sleep medication as it makes you feel drowsy and I don't like that feeling, so not even sure if I should talk to my doctor about this, but oh how I wish I could get over this and just have a nice 7-8 hr sleep again....

    I tried the sleep meds, they give them out very sparingly as they are so addictive, but you can build a tolerance to them even during a 4 wee course. Natural is better!

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