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Lack of Sleep can Pack on the Pounds |
Lack of sleep has become a global problem in the past decade. Everywhere around the world people are sleeping less. This trend has increased in the recent years starting a viscious cycle of sleep deprivation. Many shrug off lack of sleep and say they will only become irratible. Lack of sleep can also play a role in weight gain.
Did you know that your hormones play a role in your weight loss and gain? The hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin are the hormones that can either cause you to gain or lose weight. Ghrelin stimulates your appetite while leptin helps to control your appetite. Leptin is your friend as it tells you when you are full.
When you are deprived of sleep, researchers have found that the production of ghrelin and leptin are affected, and not in a good way! Researchers concluded that a sleep deficit leads to elevated levels of ghrelin in your system. So, when you are not getting enough sleep, your body actually responds by telling you that you are hungrier.
Lack of sleep will make you feel tired and ravenous. This is a result of the decrease of amount of leptin in your system. This turns into a cylce that leads to the less sleep means the more apt you are to gain weight.
Don't think that your hormones have a great effect on the size of your pants? Think about this: there is a link between obesity and lack of sleep. This link is not a nice one. In fact, the link has been found to pair together obesity and lack of sleep in Americans. This link was found by Standford University and the University of Wisconsin.
How can lack of sleep add pounds to your waistline. Don't you burn more calories while you are awake? Yes, you do burn more calories while awake then sleeping. However, the you often eat sugary snack foods when you could be sleeping. These calories overshadow the fact that you are awake. This is due to the decrease of leptin in your system.
Plus, it is also true that we burn 60-65% of all calories while our bodies are at rest. That means that only 35% or so of all the calories we burn are the result of physical activity. While there are certainly exceptions to this, the fact remains that being awake does not translate into rapid calorie burning.
No, most of us do not believe that sleep deprivation has anything to do with our weight. But, with the majority of Americans overweight and with a growing amount of research illustrating the link between obesity and sleep deprivation, people should start making shut eye a priority.
Peter Kilpton runs a very interesting website at Regarding Sleep, there's a wealth of knowledge on the website, plus why not sign up for the free Sleep newsletter. Read many more interesting articles on Sleep at: www.resleep.com/articles
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