how many hours do you need to sleep to lose weight

Sleep is just as important to weight loss as diet and exercise. If you’re trying to lose weight, lack of sleep can derail your efforts.

Unfortunately, many people not enough sleep and do not believe that it affects the processes in the body in a certain way.

At the same time, lack of sleep is associated with the choice of unhealthy food, increased hunger and calorie consumption, reduced physical activity and, ultimately, weight gain.

Although individual needs vary, most adults do about 7-9 hours of sleep per day. Getting the rest you need can be critical to achieving your weight loss goals.

UP Life explains how sleep affects weight loss, why sleep deprivation contributes to obesity, and how much sleep you need to help your body lose weight, using sources: Healthline, National Library of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Oxford Academic and ScienceDirect.

How quality sleep helps to lose weight

1. Sufficient sleep helps avoid weight gain associated with short sleep

Short sleep (less than 6-7 hours) leads to increase in body mass index (BMI) and weight gain.

Analysis of researchin which 300,000 people participated, showed that the risk of obesity increases by 41% among adults who sleep less than 7 hours a day.

I wonder what happens with each additional hour of sleep Indexes BMIs are decreasing.

Scientists discoveredthat short sleep duration is significantly associated with a larger waist circumference, which is an indicator of fat accumulation.

In another research it is described that short sleep duration is associated with a different risk of obesity in children by age groups:

• babies and toddlers under 2 years of age – the risk is increased by 40%;
• early childhood (3-5 years) – the risk is increased by 57%;
• average child age (6-11 years) – the risk is increased by 123%;
• adolescence (12-18 years) – the risk is increased by 30%.

Although lack of sleep is only one factor in the development of obesity, scientists have shown that it negatively affects hunger levels, causing a person to consume more calories from foods high in fat and sugar.

2. Quality sleep helps reduce appetite

A lot of research found that sleep-deprived individuals reported increased appetite and higher daily caloric intake.

Scientists write: People who were sleep deprived consumed an extra 385 calories per day. Moreover, a larger than usual share of calories came from fats.

Another study showedthat lack of sleep leads to a significant increase in hunger, food cravings, increased portion sizes, and consumption of chocolate and fats.

This happens through the effect of lack of sleep on:

• increase in the level of the hormone ghrelin, which causes a feeling of hunger;
• a decrease in the level of the hormone leptin, which causes a feeling of satiety.

Poor sleep can also negatively affect the sympathetic nervous system, leading to level up cortisol, a stress-related hormone.

3. A full-fledged sleep contributes to a better choice of food products

A good night’s sleep helps you make healthier food choices.

Lack of sleep changes the work of the brain and affects for making decisions. This can make it difficult to choose healthy foods and help you choose unhealthy foods.

Also, the brain’s reward centers are more stimulated by food when you’re sleep-deprived.

The study showed, that sleep-deprived people have a greater reward-related brain response after viewing images of high-calorie food. Interestingly, they are also more likely to pay more for food than those who get enough sleep.

So when you’re sleep deprived, it’s harder to control your eating and it’s easier to pay more for junk food.

In addition, lack of sleep leads to deterioration of food choices: to increase the consumption of foods high in calories, sugar and fat to compensate for the feeling of lack of energy.

Other research proves that lack of sleep leads to increased sensitivity to smells.

4. Early sleep prevents late night snacking

By going to bed on time, you avoid the possibility of consuming extra calories in the form of night snacks.

Delaying sleep late at night creates more time to eat, especially if many hours have passed since dinner.

For example, if you eat dinner at 6:00 p.m. and don’t go to bed until 1:00 a.m. every night, chances are you’ll feel hungry a few hours after dinner.

In addition, with a lack of sleep you will choose less nutritious and healthy options for snacks. After all, lack of sleep can increase appetite and desire for high-calorie, fatty food.

Interestingly, eating late at night related with weight gain, an increase in body mass index and a decrease in fat oxidation, which complicates the process of losing weight.

In addition, eating before bedtime (especially large portions) degrades the quality sleep Try to limit food intake 2-3 hours before bedtime. However, if you’re hungry, consider a small, protein-rich snack (such as Greek yogurt or cottage cheese).

5. Good sleep has benefits for metabolism

Getting enough sleep helps avoid the metabolic slowdown that can happen if you’re sleep deprived.

Resting metabolic rate is the number of calories burned by the body at rest (during sleep, for example). It is influenced by many factors:

• age;
• weight;
• height;
• sex;
• muscle mass

Interestingly, the duration of sleep can also influence on metabolism at rest. In one research studied how sleep restriction affects this. People slept normally for 2 nights, and then for 5 days they restricted sleep to 4 hours a day. During the 5 days of sleep restriction, participants’ resting metabolic rate decreased significantly compared to baseline.

Others researchon the contrary, found no changes in metabolism during sleep deprivation and suggest that energy expenditure may increase with short sleep.

Therefore, more research is needed to determine whether and how sleep deprivation affects metabolism.

Lack of sleep can also suppress fat oxidation, that is, the breakdown of fat cells into energy.

One thing research showed that sleep deprivation leads to significantly lower fat oxidation in people of different ages, sexes, and body composition.

Poor quality sleep can also reduce muscle synthesis. Small research showed that muscle synthesis decreased by 18% and plasma testosterone levels by 24% after one night of poor sleep. In addition, cortisol levels increased by 21%. Together, these conditions contribute to the destruction of muscles.

However, this observation was small and lasted only 1 day, which is a significant limitation. In addition, others research show that lack of sleep does not affect muscle recovery and growth. Thus, longer and larger studies are needed.

6. Quality sleep increases physical activity

Sleep and physical activity have a close bilateral relationship communication. Lack of sleep reduces physical activity, and insufficient physical activity can lead to poorer sleep.

Many research have shown that regular exercise can reduce the time it takes to fall asleep and improve overall sleep quality in all age groups.

In addition, lack of sleep can cause daytime fatigue, which reduces motivation to exercise and makes people more prone to a sedentary lifestyle.

At the same time, lack of sleep negatively affects on your athletic performance by reducing:

• reaction time;
• fine motor skills;
• muscle strength;
• endurance;
• problem solving skills.

Lack of sleep can also increase the risk of injury and delay recovery.

7. Adherence to the sleep regime reduces the risk of obesity.

Research showthat the optimal time for sleep is 10 o’clock in the evening.

Sleep disorder expert, Colleen Lance, MD explainsthat there really isn’t an hour that everyone has to follow.

“Bedtime depends on your personal needs, and they are different for everyone. Instead of focusing on the numbers on your alarm clock, your goal should be to stick to a routine: you should go to bed at the same time every night (even if it’s 10 p.m.) and wake up at the same time every morning” – says the expert.

This is related to our circadian rhythm – the internal clock that is inside our body and regulates sleep.

“When the sun goes down, your brain senses from the lack of light that it’s time to go to sleep. This triggers the secretion of melatonin, which stimulates other neurochemicals to start a process that prepares you for sleep a few hours later.”– explains Dr. Lance.

The expert emphasizes that not observing the sleep schedule can lead to an increased risk of obesity.