Is Lack of Sleep Making You Fat?

According to new research, it might be. Researchers have long noted a correlation between obesity and lack of sleep but the exact reasons why have not been well studied. One thing researchers do know is that lack of sleep influences two hormones that regulate hunger. The first hormone is leptin, which is responsible for signaling to your brain to stop eating after you've consumed enough food to satisfy your body. Lack of sleep can actually cause a decrease in leptin (or sensitivity to it) which makes a person more likely to over eat. The other hormone affected is ghrelin, which is responsible for stimulating hunger when your body needs food. Lack of sleep causes an increase in ghrelin secretion making a person more hungry and again likely to over eat. Since these hormonal changes actually affect your physiological feelings of hunger, they are very hard to resist and overeating is almost unavoidable.
Another reason I believe lack of sleep may contribute to obesity is that people over eat when tired in an attempt to feel more energized. Think about the last time you were sleep deprived and feeling low on energy. What did you do? Probably reached for some food, and it probably wasn't broccoli. When a person is tired and looking for food to feel better she will generally reach for something sugary. I think it's instinct- we know that sugar will get into our system quickly and make us feel better. Unfortunately, this is just a temporary fix as sugar will raise your blood glucose and then drop it just as quickly, leaving you feeling just as tired and sluggish as before. What your body really needs is a nap, not sugar.


What to do about it
Although scientists aren't exactly sure why lack of sleep contributes to obesity the connection is there so play it safe and aim to get enough sleep. What counts as lack of sleep for one person may be different for another but generally it seems that 5-6 hours a night is the cut off where weight gain problems may occur. Most adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night to be functioning at top notch.

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (or as close as possible).
• Don't eat right before going to bed (sugar, caffeine, or digestion issues may keep you awake and you probably don't need the calories at that point).
• Take a good look at your schedule and see if there is anything you can consolidate or cut out so that you can get to bed earlier or sleep in a bit more.
• Don't hit snooze. You won't fall back into your deep sleep cycles in between alarms so the extra minutes don't really benefit your body. Set your alarm at the latest point possible and jump out of bed at the first alarm.
• If you can't get 7-8 hours of sleep a night on a consistent basis try to squeeze in a 20 minute power nap during the day.
• If you know you aren't getting enough sleep, make a conscious effort to keep your daily calories in check.

Sweet dreams!