Find out why sleeping less is contributing to the direct accumulation of fat and reducing the performance of your body. Most people believe that the main reasons for gaining fat mass are unhealthy diet and an inactive lifestyle. This is all correct, but we forgot to mention an equally important factor - sleep. This is confirmed by the results of numerous studies. Without getting enough sleep, a person subconsciously eats a lot of fatty foods, which does not fit with losing weight at all.
In the course of one study, conducted jointly by American and Canadian scientists, it was proved that a person who does not get enough sleep the next day consumes mostly unhealthy fatty foods. At the same time, they consume not only a lot of calories, but also physical activity decreases, which creates conditions for the accumulation of fat.
From all of the above, we can conclude that lack of sleep and problems with being overweight are directly related. If you do not get enough sleep, then your appetite increases, because the brain needs to replenish its energy reserves, and this is easiest to do thanks to the use of high-calorie foods. Today we'll take a closer look at the effects of sleep deprivation on fat storage.
Effects of sleep and lack of sleep on fat storage
It has been estimated that sleep duration has decreased by about 20 percent, or an hour and a half, over the past century. At the same time, the number of stressful situations and depression increased, but physical activity decreased. Add to this the poor quality of most modern food products and the causes of the obesity epidemic become clear.
Excess weight and sleep are related at least to the fact that lack of sleep is the main cause of fatigue and a decrease in the body's energy storage. However, our body strives for balance in everything and first of all tries to make up for the energy deficit. As a result, you consume high-calorie foods and at the same time lead a passive lifestyle. These are the main reasons for the appearance of the problem of excess weight.
Surely many are familiar with the situation that after a lack of sleep, you drink a cup of coffee in the morning and at the same time eat a bun or chocolate. Trying to restore energy balance and eating high-calorie foods, you yourself, without realizing it, create all the conditions for creating new fat reserves.
However, there is little energy, because the body is fully restored only during sleep, and after work you go not to the gym, but home. Dinner is again high in calories. Today each of us has a lot of things to do and it is very difficult to find time to solve them. This is one of the reasons why a person sleeps for a maximum of six hours. While we're talking about the effects of sleep deprivation on fat storage today, there are more complex body problems to keep in mind.
It is very important to properly plan your day and especially for fitness fans. If you exercise regularly and sleep less than six hours at the same time, then losing weight will be very difficult, and sometimes impossible. We will now look at several reasons that prove the relationship between lack of sleep and fat gain:
- With a lack of sleep, a hormone is actively synthesized in the body that controls the feeling of hunger. Swiss scientists have found that if a person sleeps little, he buys more foods that are high in calories.
- The effect of lack of sleep on fat storage is direct, as it slows down metabolic processes.
- To control appetite, you need to maintain a balance between two hormones - ghrelin and leptin. The first is synthesized by adipose tissues, and the second in the stomach. Lack of sleep disturbs the balance between these substances.
- Growth hormone or growth hormone is synthesized as actively as possible during sleep. This substance has a powerful fat burning effect and if you do not get enough sleep, then the concentration of growth hormone drops.
- Also, at night, the body produces serotonin, a low concentration of which leads to a decrease in mood. To change the situation, people use sweets and flour.
- Normal sleep slows down the production of cortisol. This substance activates the processes of lipogenesis and destruction of muscle tissue.
All of the above speaks volumes about the fact that it is extremely important to get enough sleep for weight loss.
Is it possible to lose weight in a dream?
In everything it is necessary to observe the measure. A lot of sleep is just as bad for the body as not getting enough sleep. To get evidence on this issue, turn to scientific research. At Wake Forest University, an experiment was conducted for five years, which makes it possible to state the fact that if you sleep about seven hours a day, you will not gain excess weight. The subjects who slept for eight hours a day, on average, gained about 0.5 kilograms. If you sleep less than six hours, then you can gain up to two kilos.
However, you should not unquestioningly follow all the recommendations, because every person is different, and if one of us needs 6 hours of sleep a day, the other will need 8. It is very important to learn to listen to your body, because it will always tell you what is best for you. If you feel refreshed throughout the day, you will get enough sleep. Do not forget about the importance of the first meal and it is necessary to approach breakfast with full responsibility.
Here are some tips to help you lose weight in your sleep, or at least not gain fat mass:
- Try to fall asleep between 10 and 24 hours, as this speeds up the process of restoring energy reserves in the body.
- The last meal should be taken two or three hours before bedtime.
- Only good quality sleep can be beneficial. Scientists recommend equipping the bedroom and purchasing an orthopedic mattress.
- Before going to bed, you should ventilate the room.
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time.
- It is necessary to sleep in complete darkness and silence.
- Avoid or limit alcoholic beverages, coffee and cigarettes.
- It is better to go in for sports in the morning, although not everyone can do it because of work or study.
- Before going to bed, you should clear your brain of thoughts and relax.
The negative effects of lack of sleep on the body
Very often people do not get enough sleep due to their own fault. Instead of relaxing, many people prefer to play video games or chat on social networks. In addition, stress, which is very numerous in modern life, as well as a high load on the brain before going to bed, also have a great influence on the quality of sleep. It makes no sense to talk about the reasons for constant lack of sleep, because there are many of them.
You must understand that there is a line between quality sleep and lack of sleep. Today we are talking about the effect of lack of sleep on fat accumulation, but lack of sleep negatively affects all systems of the body. Let's take a look at the main arguments for quality sleep.
Nervous Disorders
Surely you yourself know that if you do not get enough sleep, then literally everything annoys you. We have already said that at night, serotonin is actively synthesized, a deficiency of which leads to a drop in mood. But it also becomes difficult to control your emotions. If a person does not get enough sleep, then a large amount of cortisol is produced in the body. Scientists have shown that this hormone can cause depression, and now they are studying its connection with diabetes.
If you don't get enough sleep, it becomes more difficult to make the right decisions, and your attention and cognitive abilities deteriorate. It has been proven that sleep deprivation is much more difficult to solve mathematical and logical problems. During sleep, the brain continues to work and processes the information received throughout the day. If you have not slept much, then this process is disrupted. As a result, a person becomes forgetful, memory lapses and absent-mindedness may appear.
Risks of developing cancer are increasing
It has already been proven that night shifts are a kind of carcinogen for the body. The whole point is that during night work in the body, the process of melatonin synthesis is disrupted. This hormone is produced by the pineal gland after dark. Melatonin has inherent antioxidant properties and is able to reduce the concentration of estrogen.
In Japan, scientists have surveyed more than 20,000 women. As a result, they found that with a sleep duration of less than six hours, the risks of developing breast cancer increase. According to scientists, this fact is associated with a deficiency of melatonin. Also note that life expectancy in chronic sleep deprivation decreases.
Decreased sexual activity
In the course of a survey of a large number of respondents, scientists came to the conclusion about the detrimental effect of lack of sleep on sex life. More than a quarter of those surveyed reported that they do not get enough sleep and get very tired, which makes their sex life unsatisfactory. In the United States, a group of renowned sexologists conducted a study of 170 women who rarely have sex. They found that the reason for an unsatisfactory sex life is excessive fatigue.
On average, after the quality of sleep is restored, a woman's sexual activity can increase by 14 percent. During sleep, the rate of testosterone synthesis increases, which is responsible for the libido of not only men, but also women. Thus, the more a person sleeps, the better his sex life will be. We also report that chronic lack of sleep can cause male impotence.
How can you improve your sleep quality?
We've already talked about the effects of lack of sleep on fat storage. Let's define the most effective ways to improve the quality of our sleep.
- Orthopedic mattress. We have already briefly recalled the importance of creating the right microclimate. It has been proven that the right surface must be chosen for quality sleep. Today, it is the orthopedic mattress that is the best way to improve the quality of sleep.
- Microclimate in the bedroom. When creating a bedroom interior, it is necessary to ensure that the brain does not receive unnecessary information with the help of the senses. Make the room soundproof and dark. Recall that the optimal temperature at which sleep will be of good quality is in the range from 16 to 22 degrees.
- Sleep during the day. An afternoon nap can be very beneficial for everyone. Many people believe that daytime sleep will negatively affect nighttime sleep. However, this is not the case and the best proof of this is the Spanish siesta. Note that the duration of daytime sleep should not exceed an hour and a half and at the same time should not be less than an hour.
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