Weightloss and sleep

SuperMoniMonk
SuperMoniMonk Posts: 467 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I tend to go to bed late and only get about 6 hours of rest time at night.
Heard on the news that you need your 8 hours of sleep in order to lose weight...not enough sleeps leads to gaining more.

Has anyone out there changed their sleeping patterns and seem results ?
what did you do in order to change the bad habit of going to bed so late. ?

Replies

  • lsd007
    lsd007 Posts: 435
    Gee, I hope not! I'm lucky if I get six on a good night.
  • hwilliams519
    hwilliams519 Posts: 428
    I prob get about 6.5-7 hrs of sleep at night. And I get really cranky in the mornings. I know my body really needs the 8 hours. I would love any help or advice too.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    It can be bad for weight loss.

    But I average between 5-7 hours per night (sometimes less) and it hasn't hurt mine.
  • AllegraWilliams
    AllegraWilliams Posts: 34
    I wrote a research paper on the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on the effects of memory consolidation my 2nd year of college. (AKA: sleeping too little keeps your short term memories form going into long term memories) along the way I ran into a TON of research regarding the effects of too little sleep on metabolism/weight gain.

    It is very much true, there is a very strong link between weight gain and sleep deprivation. The trick is, every ones' bodies require a different amount of sleep. You need to find YOUR version, your number of min. hours, and then get those hours.

    For me, I require ~8.5 to 9 hours to function normally. I've known people that do just fine on 6 hours.

    So you need to get enough sleep for your body, or it will have a very detrimental long term effect (weigh gain, memory loss, emotional issues, immune function, the list goes on.) , however it may be far less (or more) than 8 hours.
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
    What keeps you up so late? I've realized that there really is nothing good on tv anymore and I'd rather read a good book. I head to bed around 9:30 and usually read for half an hour or 45 minutes. My sleep is seriously disrupted at night with a baby that wakes 3 times through the night to be fed and the occasional peep from one or more of the other kids.
  • mfiggs
    mfiggs Posts: 155 Member
    I read an article a while back and I have been told by my doctor that if you do not get enough sleep you can become overweight or gain weight. When you are tired and don't get enough sleep your brain sends signals to the part that controls appetite and makes you feel like your hungry even if you are not. If that makes sense. I don't remember all the technical words they used but that is what I got out of it. If I am up all night with my daughter when she is sick and have to get up and go to work the next day I feel super hungry all that next day, but you have to tell yourself that you are not hungry and make the right choices which is very hard!
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
    I'm not sure there is a direct correlation, because my diet "sucked" this weekend too.......BUT, I got VERY little sleep (maybe two hours) on Saturday night (late to bed, not at home, clock chiming kept me awake, etc.), and I gained five pounds over the weekend. Now, I know some of that is just water weight, etc. from not eating regularly and not keeping track of calories for a couple of days, and I anticipate taking at least some of it off quickly. But besides being TIRED beyond compare today, it does seem to have affected my weight.

    That being said, today I am back into my eating and exercise routine.

    I am a widow, and I've not slept well without taking Tylenol PM since my husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor 12 years ago. Go ahead and crucify me for being hooked, but it is a fact of life for me. I usually read before I go to sleep, and this weekend when I didn't sleep well, I didn't have either of these "crutches" with me (Tylenol PM or a book). I've heard it's best to GRADUALLY change your sleep patterns. Try heading to bed just 15 minutes earlier for a week, and then 15 minutes more the following week. Perhaps that will be helpful.

    Kaye
  • AllegraWilliams
    AllegraWilliams Posts: 34
    I wrote a research paper on the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on the effects of memory consolidation my 2nd year of college. (AKA: sleeping too little keeps your short term memories form going into long term memories) along the way I ran into a TON of research regarding the effects of too little sleep on metabolism/weight gain.

    It is very much true, there is a very strong link between weight gain and sleep deprivation. The trick is, every ones' bodies require a different amount of sleep. You need to find YOUR version, your number of min. hours, and then get those hours.

    For me, I require ~8.5 to 9 hours to function normally. I've known people that do just fine on 6 hours.

    So you need to get enough sleep for your body, or it will have a very detrimental long term effect (weigh gain, memory loss, emotional issues, immune function, the list goes on.) , however it may be far less (or more) than 8 hours.


    I forgot to add that quality of sleep is just as important as quantity. We basically have 2 stages of sleep REM (rapid eye movement) and "Deep" sleep, which is where you body repairs and readjusts itself. REM is closer to being conscious, and many people who think they slept through the night never moved into the deeper level of sleep. It is this deeper level that is needed most for health. (Including memory function AND healthy weight, immune system, and so on.)

    Things like my husbands snoring, can keep you from falling into that deeper level... thank you hubby, or anything that almost (or does) wake you throughout the night.
  • hwilliams519
    hwilliams519 Posts: 428

    For me, I require ~8.5 to 9 hours to function normally. I've known people that do just fine on 6 hours.

    That's about how much sleep I believe I need. Sometimes on the weekend, I get a chance to sleep in. And it makes me feel so much better, like my body finally got what it needed. And my husband thinks I sleep too much. His body just doesn't need or want that extra sleep.
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