Sleep More, Weigh Less: Science shows you can lose weight by sleeping

It might sound like a dream and hard to believe, yet the correlation between sleep and weight loss is a reality.

A study published in Jama Internal Medicine brought surprising unexpected results: people could potentially lose up to 11 kg in three years merely through regulating their sleeping cycle!

The survey involved a sample of 80 obese adults used to resting 5-6 hours per night. They were encouraged to optimize their routine to achieve the recommended 8 hours of sleep. The improved management of sleeping hours has reduced daily caloric intake of approximately 270 calories - by as much as 500 calories for some subjects. Figures may not seem substantial when dwelling on a single day but. multiplied over long term, results are impressive, effortlessly.

Except for pathologies and sleep disorders, losing weight while sleeping is actually not that tough.

The research team observed rules that can be easily replicated by anyone:

• Abstain from using electronic devices at least 50 minutes before bedtime
• Sleep in a room with a temperature hovering around 20 degrees Celsius
• Avoid alcohol
• Save a moment to unwind: read a book, take a hot bath, do some yoga

In short, nothing fancy! (We talked about it in the previous article Here)

Sleep is an important ally in losing weight as it promotes the synthesis of leptin, the satiety hormone, and the reduction of germin, the hormone which stimulates appetite. When leptin levels are too low, the satiety signal is not perceived by our body. The result? You end up eating much more!

Insufficient rest, moreover, results in an imbalance of hormone levels that causes cravings for junk food.

The brain's reward centers are the game changers, here. In fact, they are activated in sleep deprivation situations, increasing consumption of high-sugar food.

In addition, melatonin, knows as the sleep hormone, helps you lose weight by stimulating calorie consumption and shedding accumulated fat. It can be consumed as a supplement, but doctors' recommendation is to increase the intake of foods which naturally contain it such as tomatoes, fennel, cherries, cilantro, mand and sunflower seeds.

In the end, observing the natural sleep-wake rhythm guarantees a metabolic equilibrium which is crucial for fighting overweight and consequently, losing weight.

What is described, of course, is not only occurring in heavily overweight people, but also in normal-weight people: sleep is truly beneficial.