Usually, diet and exercise are considered key factors for weight gain/loss, but are you aware that sleep is just as important? There’s a positive correlation between good sleep and a healthy body weight.
An occasional night without sleep will not harm your health but repeated cycles of poor quality sleep would make you prone to multiple medical conditions. In addition, people who are sleep deprived eat significantly more calories, which accounts for unhealthy weight gain. Sleeping late and waking up early also impacts health negatively.
Lack of sleep causes weight gain
Sleep has always been an extremely important activity that helps us get through our daily lives. But many times, we sacrifice our sleep time for studies, work or late night movies. We are actually misusing our body’s resting time.
Sleep and weight gain are directly related to each other. Two hormones come into play when we are sleep deprived.
- More of the ghrelin hormone or the hunger hormone is secreted when we don’t have the required amount of sleep, making one eat more.
- There are decreased amounts of the leptin hormone which stops one from eating more present in the body.
When both these two hormones start acting together, it results in weight gain.
Be mindful of hunger pangs when sleep deprived
Take a deep breath and ask yourself: Why am I eating?
Are you eating because you’re truly hungry, ready to nourish yourself, and enjoy a meal…or could you be reaching for food because you’re bored or lonely or seeking comfort? Sometimes, we do seek food for reasons that are more emotional. Sleep deprivation causes emotional imbalance.The emotional imbalance further may trigger us to eat. It’s completely okay if that is the reason you are eating, but this check-in is just about being aware of your reason for this meal. Be honest with yourself with no judgment.
How to improve the quality of sleep?
Many people are sleep deprived and there’s only one way to compensate for this – adopting regular sleep patterns to catch up on lost sleep.
Ms.C. Pavithra, Trainee Psychologist, myndwell shares, “Here are a few tips for you to improve the quality of your sleep…
- Keep a regular sleep schedule
- Spend the hour before bed to unwind from the day’s stressors
- Turn away the clock so you can’t see the time
- Don’t try too hard- Forcing yourself to sleep could result in anxiety and would aggravate the condition
In addition to adopting healthier sleeping habits, it’s still essential to have a positive outlook about falling asleep. It is necessary to identify the causes of your sleep issues and fix them. Sleep well to be well.”
