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Are You Sleep Deprived and Overweight?


Posted by Jayson H. Registered Dietician

If you are then we may know the answer as to why you are overweight.

Studies have shown that sleep can impact your appetite hormones, which may may explain why those that are sleep deprived may be more overweight than those who get plenty of sleep.

Sleep deprived adults tend to produce more ghrelin, which is a hormone that promotes hunger.

Sleep deprived adults also tend to produce less leptin, which is a hormone that tells your body it is full.

If you are someone that is overweight and you lack enough sleep then it might be time to focus on something other then nutrition and exercise.

Now I am not saying you should abandon nutrition and exercise.

You should continue to eat right and exercise, but increase your focus on getting to bed earlier so that you can get plenty of sleep.

Most individuals still require 7-8 hours of restful sleep a night.

Increase your sleep and see if you aren't one that is sabotaging your weight loss because of lack of sleep.

It might just be the change you need to finally shed those unwanted pounds.

Yours in health!
Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS
 
Answers (2)
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I know getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is almost impossible for me. (My husband snores) I've heard hard core body builders talk about the importance of sleep also. Maybe I should consider a short nap midday
If you could get in a nap it would help if you can't get the uninterrupted sleep at night. The snoring thing can be tough to deal with. I experienced that when my wife was pregnant. The hormonal changes made her start snoring while she was pregnant. I had to sleep with ear plugs because I couldn't get any sleep. Thankfully she stopped as soon as she delivered our daugther.
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