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research shows that people with low-quality sleep are less successful at losing weight than those with higher sleep quality scores, and that sleeping fewer than seven hours per night has the same effect.
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this article was produced by the healthing editorial team with the support of a grant from aquaomega. while aquaomega made the production of this article possible, they did not have any editorial influence or control over the content, including review prior to publication.
weight loss comes down to two things: calories in and calories out, right? well, not exactly. losing weight is far more complex than once thought, and several other players determine how efficiently your body loses weight.
evidence shows that sleep is a crucial factor that many people overlook when they’re trying to reach a healthy weight.
during sleep, the body enters recovery mode, repairing, restoring and rejuvenating the body and brain so that vital physical, mental and emotional functions continue to work as they should. many of those functions are related to weight loss and weight management.
hormonal regulation, metabolism, and energy usage and even behaviour and cravings, are all directly affected by sleep, so if you’re not getting enough shut-eye, it could be a lot more difficult to shed pounds even if you’re doing everything else right.
what’s the connection between sleep and weight loss?
your sleep-wake cycle is controlled by the circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour clock that influences hormones, among other things. when it comes to specific hormones and your weight, ghrelin and leptin are the two that are most notable. ghrelin makes you feel hungry, while leptin tells you when you’re full and no longer need food, regulating appetite and how much you eat throughout the day.
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when you get less than six hours per night of restful sleep, these hormones go off balance, increasing feelings of hunger while reducing feelings of satiety. in turn, when you wake up and go throughout your day, your brain will be pinging to you that it’s time to eat again, causing an increase in food intake.
research shows that it’s not just weight loss — it’s fat loss specifically that is affected by a lack of sleep. one study compared people who spent 5.5 hours a day in bed with those who spent 8.5 hours, both groups eating in a caloric deficit.
by the end of the study, while both groups ate the same, those who spent 8.5 hours in bed lost more fat than those who were less rested.
cortisol, often called the stress hormone, is also affected by lack of sleep and can influence fat storage, hindering weight-loss efforts. because the hormone is also regulated by the circadian clock, even a single night of sleep deprivation can lead to higher cortisol levels the next day. over time, those levels can remain higher than they should be.
consistently high levels of cortisol can increase:
- a person’s appetite for “comfort foods” that are often less healthy and stall weight-loss efforts
- the distribution of fat to the abdominal area
- insulin resistance, which can lead to storing more fat
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the action of brown fat, which is essential for burning energy, can also be reduced due to elevated cortisol levels, making it harder for the body to burn energy and fat stores while trying to lose weight.
sleep and healthy lifestyle behaviours
not getting enough sleep can lead to fatigue, both mentally and physically. in turn, if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s going to be that much harder to push yourself to exercise because you’re simply not going to have the energy for it.
looking at it from a cognitive perspective, getting adequate sleep will provide you with higher levels of focus, as well as a better mood, both of which play a role in the mental energy required to get motivated enough to exercise.
not only that, but sleep can also determine how hard you can work during exercise. without enough sleep, the body will feel tired, and you won’t be able to push yourself as far.
according to research on the subject, people who are sleep deprived are far less likely to engage in physical activity, experience impaired muscle strength and endurance capabilities, and have worsened recovery, making developing a routine exceptionally difficult.
when it comes to healthy eating behaviours, sleep can also affect them because it influences dietary patterns. research has found that people who don’t get good quality sleep are more likely to eat unhealthy foods, and vice versa. it does so because it affects certain areas of the brain that control food choices.
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when you don’t get enough sleep, the activity in your frontal cortex and insula cortex, which play a role in decision-making, decreases, making room for the desire to eat high-calorie, unhealthy foods that can stall weight-loss progress. essentially, if you don’t get enough sleep, your brain will want you to consume foods that are more related to weight gain than weight loss.
quality versus quantity: what matters more?
while sleep duration plays an important role in weight-loss efforts, so does sleep quality. for example, if you get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, but you’re waking up several times or aren’t getting enough deep or rem sleep, that missing piece can still make it more difficult to lose weight.
research shows that people with low-quality sleep are less successful at losing weight than those with higher sleep quality scores, and that sleeping fewer than seven hours per night has the same effect.
so, what matters more? they play equal parts.
improving your sleep to reach your weight-loss goals
since sleep is a vital component in weight loss, it’s crucial to ensure that you’re getting enough hours of high-quality sleep every day. how do you do that? you can:
- establish a routine: go to bed and wake up at the same time every day to help reset your circadian rhythm and restore it to an optimal state.
- set up a good sleep environment: make your bedroom a sleep oasis. that could mean using calming scents, blackout curtains, eye masks, earplugs, or a white noise machine to remove distractions that keep you awake. lowering the thermostat to cool the room can also encourage deeper sleep, giving you a better chance of getting high-quality sleep.
- limit things that negatively affect sleep: devices, including phones and tvs, emit blue light that can mess with your melatonin production, making it more difficult to fall asleep. limiting them to one to two hours before you go to sleep can help you fall asleep faster. the same can be said for other things, such as caffeine, heavy meals, or alcohol, all of which can affect sleep quality.
- improve daytime habits: exercising more and ensuring that you get at least a half-hour of daylight each day can also help to reset an off-balance sleep-wake cycle, so you can start improving your sleep by establishing daytime habits that set you up for success when your head hits the pillow.
- assess for sleep disorders: if you’ve done everything naturally and aren’t seeing results, you may need a little help from a health-care professional. you can see a naturopath who may recommend supplements, or your family physician who can help you figure out if you have insomnia or another sleep disorder that requires medical treatment.
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while sleep is vital for overall health, its connection to weight loss is especially important if you’re trying to reach a healthy weight. so, if you’re not seeing results, take a look at your sleep habits, and you may just have found the answer.
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