Sound Sleep Aids Fat Loss
If you are not losing the excess fat in your body despite adopting a low calorie healthy diet, then perhaps you should check your sleeping habit. According to a new study, fat loss could be halted by poor sleep.
Sound sleep promotes fat loss
A University of Chicago research team studied how sleep affects weight loss. The findings have been published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In the study, ten overweight adults on a low calorie diet slept for about 8.5 hours per night for two weeks. For another two weeks, the same participants slept for nearly 5.5 hours per night.
Researchers found that compared to periods when the participants enjoyed adequate sleep, in the sleep-restricted period the participants lost 55 per cent less fat. Moreover, most of the weight lost during the sleep-restricted period comprised of muscle weight, whereas fats are primarily lost during normal sleep periods.
Sleep deprivations prevents the body from using fats as an important source of fuels. Although one might lose same amount of body weight during the sleep deprivation and normal sleep periods, it is always desirable to shed fats instead muscle mass.
How sleep promotes fat loss
We feel sleepy after a large meal. This is a natural mechanism to stop eating. When we feel sleepy, we do not feel the urge to overeat. Sleep loss tends to increase food craving by stimulating production of the hormone ghrelin and by reducing the leptin level in the blood.
Ghrelin increases hunger pangs, whereas leptin acts as an appetite suppressant. The hormonal imbalance produced by sleep deprivation forces the brain to think that you are starving. This increases food craving, and you tend to overeat. In the University of California study, researchers noted that the ghrelin level recorded a ten-point increase during the sleep deprivation period.
How to enjoy sound sleep
Therefore, a healthy diet might help you to lose fat only if you can manage to get more than seven hours of sound sleep every night. Moderate physical activities could ensure enough sleep. However, exercises should be avoided before bedtime.
This would raise the stress hormone and reduce sleep. To prevent sleeping difficulties, you should not take caffeinated beverages after late afternoon. To enjoy sound sleep, you should carefully plan your evening meal. It should primarily comprise of low to medium glycemic index foods.
