Beauty Sleep

A good rest has always been called beauty sleep—but how about a sleep that keeps your body lean? New research shows that individuals who are not sleep deprived have an increased capacity to lose weight and keep it off.

Stress induced weight gain?

Sleep reduces stress hormones, important for fat loss
Sufficient rest and recuperation effectively reduces our stress hormone, cortisol. When we are sleep deprived, cortisol levels rise. Cortisol controls our appetite, often making us feel hungry even when we have eaten enough. It also raises blood sugar and insulin levels and results in increased fat deposition around the abdomen. To further complicate the situation, high cortisol can negatively affect our sleep patterns, making it difficult to fall or stay asleep when we finally do go to bed. This increase in stress hormone also has detrimental effects on other aspects of our endocrine system, like thyroid gland function which governs our metabolism.

A study recently published in the International Journal of Obesity demonstrated a link between the length of time of shift work and abdominal fat. The conclusion was that chronic sleep deprivation could result in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The effects of sleep deprivation are similar to those seen in normal aging; therefore, sleep debt may increase the severity of age–related chronic disorders such as weight gain, elevated cholesterol or triglyceride levels and eventually diabetes and/or heart disease.

Growth hormone released during sleep is also important for fat loss

It is not just lack of sleep that negatively affects body fat percentage and the risk of chronic disease—poor sleep quality does as well. Deep sleep is accompanied by an increased secretion of growth hormone necessary for repairing and rebuilding body tissues like muscle and bone. It also helps to negate the bad effects of cortisol. Growth hormone naturally decreases with age and also with increased abdominal fat, leading to a viscious cycle of fatigue, excess stress hormone and increased abdominal fat.