Sleep and Weight

SaraTonin
SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I was reading around and wanted to know - have any of you found that more/less sleep affects your weight loss goals?

I know that insomniacs often struggle with weight, but I was wondering if anyone with regular sleeping habits had better weight loss success by getting enough sleep.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Replies

  • believetoachieve
    believetoachieve Posts: 675 Member
    Yes! To be honest, when I get a great night's sleep, I often find I weigh less the next morning. Why this happens - I don't know! I also find that I tend to eat less, and eat better. This is mostly because of the hunger hormone (I think it's called ghrelin?). At any rate, I rely on less sugar/caffeine, and more whole/healthy foods!

    I generally get 8 hours of sleep a day. Some days (where possible) I get 10 hours and my body LOVES me for that! :bigsmile:
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    if i have a bad nights sleep, or no sleep, im much much hungrier the next day, and am much less able to resist.
  • bbb84
    bbb84 Posts: 418 Member
    I work swing shift and when I swing into my graveyard shift my weight just doesnt budge....Once I get back on days or evening and can get at least 7hrs straight the weight just seems to melt off. Sleep = positive results (you feel better, you look better, and the body functions better)
  • yertle
    yertle Posts: 14 Member
    Our bodies need a certain amount of energy to function, and if they don't get it through adequate sleep, they will crave it through calories. My hunger is muuuch worse when I don't get enough rest!
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    When I work, I only have time to sleep 6 hours, if I'm lucky. I don't usually see much in the way of weight loss on the scale until I get a full nights sleep.
  • gailosborne
    gailosborne Posts: 435
    Hi

    I'd be very interested to hear what others say - this is a topic I wonder about too because I'm not a great sleeper!

    I know that when I'm not getting enough sleep I want to eat chocolate, bread, cookies all those kinds of things! I know there is a stress hormone which I heard contributes to fat storage around the middle, I guess lack of sleep would contribute to stress!
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    Stress hormone!!! Yes that makes total sense to me now.
  • gailosborne
    gailosborne Posts: 435
    I googled cortisol (the stress hormone) it can inhibit the metabolism of blood sugar and lower thyroid function! Don't know how stressed a person would have to be but I guess being an insomniac would get you there!
  • believetoachieve
    believetoachieve Posts: 675 Member
    I googled cortisol (the stress hormone) it can inhibit the metabolism of blood sugar and lower thyroid function! Don't know how stressed a person would have to be but I guess being an insomniac would get you there!

    Not very! :frown: You can excrete that hormone even with seemingly simple things, like being startled, being too hot, being mildly stressed, watching a scary movie, etc. The other hormone is called ghrelin (spelling??) and thats the hunger regulating hormone.
  • mfpchris
    mfpchris Posts: 279 Member
    This is a good topic. Just in the last two or three week, I somehow got it in my head that
    good quality/quantity of sleep is important for my weight loss. I've been reading
    a little about sleep and weight loss, I just started kind of tracking my sleep, and
    I've tried to make a few adjustments to get better/more sleep.

    I don't find it easy. My habits are old old old. I've been doing my routine for years.
    I've always been a night owl. I always did homework and have energy between
    10:00 P.M. and 2:00 A.M. This is the hardest thing for me to change.

    I can wake up to an alarm clock at 6:00 A.M. but If I've gone to bed at my
    usual midnight or 1:00 A.M. that just means I'm sleep deprived. So, my
    big effort has been to try and do what it takes to *go* to bed at a regular
    time, and have it be an earlier time in the evening.

    The Paleo diet people advocate as much sleep as you can possibly get
    (which seems good, but kind of a weird objective) They try not to have
    alarm clocks as the cortisol/stress hormones start right when that
    alarm goes off. "If you need an alarm, go to bed an hour earlier, if you
    still need the alarm go to bed two hours earlier." That sounds good,
    but as I said, going to bed earlier is hard for me.

    Lastly the paleo people write about make your bedroom as light-free
    as possible. No LED alarm clocks/gadgets/devices no night lights,
    no light creeping in windows from outside lights. I've been trying
    over the last couple of days to make my bedroom more light-free.
    I'm covering my alarm clock, blocking out light from the window and
    cracks in my door. I'm only about two days into this but I hope it helps.

    With my newly darker bedroom, I am trying to develop a going to bed
    ritual. I hope it helps. Unplugging from everything. Maybe a regular
    few minute mediation at a certain time every night. I'm just going to
    keep trying this out to see how or if it helps with my weight loss.
  • emilex
    emilex Posts: 95 Member
    I just started seeing a nutritionist and had an appointment this morning. She told me that people who get less than 7 or 8 hours of sleep have cortisol problems which subsequently affect your weight. She encouraged me to make sure I get that 7 or 8 hours.
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
    I just started seeing a nutritionist and had an appointment this morning. She told me that people who get less than 7 or 8 hours of sleep have cortisol problems which subsequently affect your weight. She encouraged me to make sure I get that 7 or 8 hours.

    I totally believe this. I had incredible amounts of stress for 5 years, never knowing when I would need to wake up and be at work. I'd go to bed at 11, thinking I could sleep 'til 7, but then I'd get a phone call at 5:30 a.m. with a work emergency. Even when I could get a whole night's sleep, I'd be up every hour wondering when the phone would ring.

    Now that I'm working only part-time, no mornings, and nobody calling me to wake me up, I am in a sleep rhythm that is much better for me... and I've definitely lost weight. I can fall asleep around 11 or 12, wake up between 7 & 9, and no stress surrounding sleep at all. I sleep soundly for the first time in years!

    Of course, this isn't possible for everyone... but I wish it was!
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    Great advice everyone!! I always try to tell people to turn off their electronics at night. It's actually a rule in Feng Shui for good Chi in your bedroom. They tell you not to have any TV/distractions in your bedroom either, and not to store things under your bed.

    Turning off all your electronics saves money too! :) Good luck with your new paleo sleeping goals!
  • mfpchris
    mfpchris Posts: 279 Member
    Great advice everyone!! I always try to tell people to turn off their electronics at night. It's actually a rule in Feng Shui for good Chi in your bedroom. They tell you not to have any TV/distractions in your bedroom either, and not to store things under your bed.
    Cool, for some reason I don't keep stuff under my bed (lord knows I have junk shoved everywhere else) My bedroom
    seems to be rounding into feng shui goodness.
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