Many of my clients don’t get enough sleep. Sometimes the problem is the quality of sleep. More often the culprit is not getting enough sleep, often because of a busy stressful life and a sense that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Sometimes, like my client Lisa, what helps her the most is a good routine to allow herself some time to decompress and relax before bed and to set a regular time to get to bed at the same time each night.
In This week’s blog post I’m sharing a brief excerpt with you from my new book, Happy Life at a Healthy Weight: Creating a Shame Free, Healthy Relationship with Food and Life to help you consider how and why lack of sleep may be getting in your way of your weight loss success and its connection to obesity.
Lack of Sleep: The Sleep and Obesity Connection
How much sleep do adults need? Adults need seven or more hours of sleep a night according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep is important to physical, mental, and emotional health. Lack of sleep has several consequences, including higher rates of obesity for adults who don’t get enough sleep. Short sleep duration is also linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and depression. The negative effects of lack of sleep touch nearly every area of life, including an impaired ability to think, learn, and recall.
Lack of sleep may contribute to weight gain and obesity. Interestingly, obesity rates have Increased at the same time the hours of sleep a night have decreased. Short sleep cycles are also associated with poor eating habits from meals and snacks, nighttime eating, and higher intake of fast foods, sugar, and fat. It also contributes to decreased energy and increased weight. How might sleep deprivation affect what we eat? Sleep-wake cycles influence circulating levels of appetite regulating hormones, ghrelin, and leptin. Decreased sleep may disrupt appetite hormone regulation by increasing ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates the appetite, and by decreasing leptin, the hormone that signals a sense of fullness also called satiety. The disruption of these two hormones may lead to overeating. Extended hours of wakefulness create more time for eating. Many of the people I’ve worked with stay up late, snack at night, and then gain weight.
One third of US adults don’t get enough sleep. Work, social demands, and changes in technology have created a perfect storm of a lack of sleep, weight gain, and compromised physical and mental health. Getting enough sleep is one of the key components to success at having a happy life at a healthy weight.
Consider these three questions to help you reflect on the role that sleep plays in giving you the energy, focus, and resilience to lose weight and keep it off.
- What problems do you have with getting a good night’s sleep?
- How does lack of sleep impact your life and weight?
- What is one easy, tiny step you can take this week to refresh yourself with getting enough sleep?
Click here to find out more about my new book and the inner roadblocks that may be preventing you to lose weight, keep it off, and have a healthy relationship with food and life.
- Click here to watch the Latest Sweet Life Wellness Podcast Episode on How to Enjoy Mindful Eating.
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Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
Transformational Speaker, Breakthrough Coach, Nutritionist-Dietitian
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