The term “beauty sleep“ is popular for very good reasons. Sleeping helps your body to carry out its functions properly. It regulates hormonal imbalances, repletes your energy levels and boosts your brain’s activity.
These benefits reflect in your health, which also affects the way you look. Your skin will be smoother, your eyes will look more rested and, believe it or not, you will also be able to lose weight more easily.
Keep reading to know how sleep affects your weight management!
1. Can Reduce Appetite
Hormones leptin and ghrelin act like brakes to stop feelings of hunger and satiety at the right time. While ghrelin induces appetite, leptin is the one that warns your brain that you’ve eaten enough.
Lack of sleep makes ghrelin levels go up and leptin levels go down, which means you’ll feel hungrier and won’t be able to know exactly when to stop eating.
2. May Regulate Metabolism
Your metabolism is also at work when you’re sleeping, increasing energy and burning calories. Some studies show that sleep deprivement may slow down your metabolism and reduce the rates at which these calories burn.
It may also lead to higher levels of sugar in your blood, which in turn may lead your body to store more fat than it should.
3. Stimulates Use of Fat as Energy
Inadequate sleep habits may interfere with the methods your body uses to gain energy. Muscles need the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to turn body fat instead of sugars into fuel.
The HGH is secreted at a specific time during sleep at night. Hence, if your sleeping schedule is disturbed, the HGH will not work properly, and your muscles may keep using sugars instead of fat for energy.
4. May Make Your Exercises More Effective
As you sleep, your body recovers in different ways. This includes replenishing the energy that was spent during the day in a natural way that no caffeinated drink can imitate. A well rested body is capable of performing at the best of its mental and physical abilities.
Sleep also helps to increase your levels of testosterone, a hormone very much desired by fitness lovers. It may help you to gain muscle mass, reduce body fat and maintain a healthy bone density, among many other benefits.
5. Helps Prevent Excessive Snacking
When you lack sleep, your brain tries to find a different way to feel better as compensation. This may give you an excuse to depend on sweets and junk food to go on with your day.
If you sleep as much as your body needs, you will also have less time during the day to feel hungry and avoid those infamous late-night snacks.
6. Helps You Make Better Dietary Decisions
As mentioned above, a good night’s sleep helps your brain to function properly. This influences your ability to make decisions and choose what’s best for yourself. Regarding your weight, this means you’ll be thinking more with your head than with your stomach.
Supplements That Can Help You Sleep Better*
Products containing Ashwagandha, the stress relief herb; and Melatonin, the sleep hormone, are always a good choice to help regulate your sleep cycle.
Nature’s Discount recommends:
- Full Spectrum Ashwagandha, 570mg (60 tablets) by Planetary Herbals.
- Ashwagandha, 1200mg (60 capsules) by Zhou.
- Herbal Melatonin Sleep Gummies (50 gummies) by Fruily.
- Stress Wellness with Ashwagandha (60 vegetarian capsules) by Bio Nutrition.
- Melatonin Easy Snap, 5mg/10mg (60 tablets) by Bio Nutrition.
- Melatonin Advanced Sleep, 10mg (60 tablets) by Natrol.
- Anxiocalm (45 tablets) by Terry Naturally.
- Sleep Blend SP-17 With Cell Salt Nutrients (60 vegetarian capsules) by Solaray.
*Products may vary per island
