The Relationship Between Sleep & Weight Loss

Sleep More Hours, Lose More Fat…

 

The debate around fat loss nearly always revolves around moving more and eating less.

Join a gym and you know that’s what they’ll encourage you to do…

Perform a Google search on “fat loss” and you’ll be overwhelmed with workouts and diets…

Hire a personal trainer Darlington and you know he’ll kick your ass and hand you a bland diet plan…

And if none of this works?

Well it must be your genetics.

It must be that you’re just lazy.

It must be that you just don’t want it enough.

Or maybe, diet and exercise isn’t the real problem.

And maybe you’ve never even considered the possibility of the real problem – your sleeping pattern.

Because your sleep will have a direct and measurable effect on your ability to lose weight.

For example; A 2012 study was performed to determine the effects of sleep quantity, and quality, on weight loss. Researchers took 123 overweight and obese men and women and placed them on a diet which reflected a 6-700kcals per day calorie deficit.

Unsurprisingly, all participants lost weight.

HOWEVER, the range in the amount of weight lost by each participant was surprising – some losing only 1.6kg, whilst others lost up to 8.4kg. That’s a whopping difference!

And after taking all other factors into account, what the researchers had found was a significant relationship between how well a person slept and how much weight they lost.

You may have experienced it yourself;

Sleep badly – feel hungry – crave sugary food – cheat on diet – feel disheartened – have no desire to exercise… Diet fucked.

So this week’s challenge; cultivate yourself a better sleeping routine.

 

1. Don’t consume caffeine, cigarettes, or other stimulants late in the day. Many people find that any caffeine after noon is a problem.

2. Don’t drink alcohol in the evening. It sedates you at first, but then screws up your sleep rhythm, leading to worse sleep.

3. Keep a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at roughly the same time.

4. Put that phone down 30 minutes before going to sleep and turn it on silent so not to even tempt you to pick it up on every notification that comes through.

5. Actively address relaxation — don’t just expect it to happen. Build relaxation practices into your day.

Sleep matters, it matters way more than most imagine.

This week’s challenge is to aim for between 7 and 9 hours each night (best you possibly can Mum and Dad’s out there!) and integrate some of the practices above into your days – because your health and fat loss results may just depend upon it. For information on weight loss do visit EJay Fit.