4 Ways Sleep Affects Your Weight Loss Journey

Everyone wants to stay healthy by constantly exercising or being on a diet to lose those extra pounds gained during the COVID or by continuously working from home for the past few years. Daily exercise and eating wisely are the key components of weight loss management but other factors play a significant role. One of them is your sleep cycle which is also the most underrated aspect of health overall. Hustle Culture at work has made us put our sleep cycle on the back burner. Poor quality of sleep, erratic sleep schedule or sleep deprivation can seriously hinder weight loss growth.

Here are the impacts of sleep deprivation that everyone should be aware of:

1. Hormones Get Disturbed:

Weight loss and sleep are linked with hormones. When our body is not well-rested then there are chances that our hormones may get disrupted. The two hormones- ghrelin and leptin play a crucial role in this. When we are sleep-deprived, ghrelin – responsible for sleep deprivation – rises and leptin – signals fullness – drops. This leads one to those late-night cravings and extra snacking during the day which can sabotage the weight loss journey.

2. Mid-night cravings:

Lack of sleep or late-night binge-watching can also affect the brain’s reward centres and might crave something to eat. It will also make you crave the high-calorie, sugary and fatty foods.

3. Drains Energy:

Not having enough sleep at night can be followed by groggy or low energy by the day. The lack of sleep can also affect one’s physical activities such as going for a walk or exercising in the gym and it will be the last thing one might want to do.

4. Long Recovery:

Sleep is crucial after exercise for letting the body repair and rebuild muscle tissues. If not the body is not getting enough sleep then the recovery is not efficient and might hamper your exercise performance.

One should have at least 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. They can create a sleep-conductive environment by including a comfortable mattress, a cool room and minimised screen time at night.