Sleep Well for a Healthy Weight Loss

You might not realize the effect proper sleep can have on your weight reduction regime. If you have chalked out a plan to effectively reduce weight in some time and have not considered sleeping well, then your weight reduction plan can go hay wire. You could be going to the gym regularly but, you don’t see a difference. The reason could very well be sleep deprivation or not sleeping enough.

Why a sound sleep is important?

Sleep and hormones have an important relation. If you don’t sleep enough their functionality is hampered. A hormone called ‘Ghrelin’ makes one hungry and another hormone ‘Leptin’ commands the brain when to stop. When your sleep is not enough then there is an imbalance in the these hormone levels, the levels of Ghrelin increases and that of Leptin decreases creating an urge to have food even when you had enough.

Did you know that your sleep also affects the growth hormone? The growth is secreted in the first half of your sleep and it plays an important role in controlling body weight by influencing the proportion of muscle and fat. If you don’t sleep enough the secretion of this hormone decreases and results in more body weight. Sleep deprivation is very bad for your overall health. It increases your stress and makes you crave for unhealthy highly sweet and salty snacks. Your energy level decreases and you become sluggish. It creates a vicious cycle that makes you eat unhealthier fast food and reduces your activity level.

An average person needs at least 8 hours of sound sleep. You should exercise at least 4-5 times a week, for you to have a good night sleep.

For a good night sleep you should:

1.         Schedule the last meal of the day at least 3-4 hours before you sleep.

2.         Your dinner should light. A heavy meal will hamper your sleep. A light meal induces amino acid tryptophan that helps in sound sleep.

3.         Taking warm bath before sleeping is also helpful. If you can’t take a bath at least ensure that you wash your feet with lukewarm water.

4.         If you exercise in the evening, do it at least 4 hours before sleep. Exercising too close to sleeping increases your alertness, making it difficult to sleep. On the other hand, exercising a bit ahead of sleep will help you with a sound sleep.

5.         Lastly, always be active during the day and avoid sleeping in the afternoon. This will make your body ready to sleep at night.

So, you see if you want to reduce weight, you need to sleep well. A properly rested body can only be perfectly healthy.