If you’re having trouble with weight loss and you’ve been doing everything right, there may be something critical that you’re missing. This essential element to shedding pounds is getting the right amount of sleep each night.
With our busy lives, it can be challenging to get enough rest. There are so many things to do in a day and sleep fuels us to do them. When someone only gets 5 hours of sleep in a night they may be functional, but they won’t get the best results.
Here Are 4 Key Ways That Tiredness Can Lead To Weight Loss Woes
1. Tiredness Often Results In A Reliance On Caffeine
When you're tired, it's easy to use caffeine as a crutch. While a moderate amount of caffeine is fine, too much can lead to dehydration, and many coffee drinks come with tons of added sugar, syrups, and creams. Similarly, energy drinks may give you a boost, but they're chock-full of additional, unhealthy ingredients and enough sugar to seriously sabotage your weight loss efforts.
If you find that you can’t survive the day without coffee or an energy drink, you probably are not getting enough sleep.
2. When You're Exhausted, You Reach For Comfort And Snack Foods
When you spend your whole day exhausted, by the end of it you just want comfort and will reach for whatever is most convenient. Unfortunately, a lot of fast and prepackaged foods aren't balanced or made of fresh ingredients. Plus, you might find yourself craving sugary foods for their energy boost, or rich, comforting foods high in empty calories.
This is doubly true at the end of the day, when tiredness can leave your willpower totally sapped.
Snacking on high-energy but nutritionally poor foods between meals may give you a temporary energy boost, but it'll be followed by a crash and makes it much more difficult for you to maintain a healthy weight.
3. Lack Of Sleep Is A Long-Term Stressor
Another problem with not getting enough sleep is that it adds to your stress. This increases your cortisol levels and actually causes your body to hold onto weight. Stress and fat are like best friends. Time to get some rest, dump the stress and look your best!
4. Sleep Deprivation Is A Cycle That's Hard To Break
One of the worst things about the lack of sleep is that it's a cycle that's hard to break. Lack of energy leads us to sit on the couch and throw something on the TV, and it’s never just one show. Most people will continue watching TV until midnight or later and wake up early for work. On weekends, you might sleep in incredibly late, and stay up equally late, leading to a skewed sleep pattern that spells disaster come Monday.
This is not sustainable. It is an endless cycle of being tired. I invite you to break this cycle! Try going to bed one hour earlier to start. Slowly work your way up to 7-8 hours a night and you will see a difference.
Get Rested And See Results
Having enough rest can kill cravings for sweet and salty foods, and makes it easier to stick to your health and wellness plan or program.
Medical research using MRIs found that people who were sleep deprived and they had deficiencies in their frontal cortex. This is the area of the brain responsible for decision-making. When we don’t have enough sleep, we can’t make as many good decisions. Sleep deprivation is what is whispering for you to go to McDonalds at 12am.
There are two other hormones responsible for controlling your hunger. They are called leptin and ghrelin. When we don’t sleep, these hormones are not balanced and they are the source of sugar and junk food cravings.
Sleeping better has the bonus of helping you to achieve weight loss, but it also has many other benefits. You’ll notice an increase in your energy and a decrease in your daily necessity for caffeine and sugar.
Get In Touch
Remember to get that extra hour of sleep and work your way up to healthier sleep hygiene. I will be posting a blog in the future about tips and tricks to sleep better and fall asleep faster! If you want to get in touch, feel free to send me a message via the online contact form or by calling 1-844-383-8819.
