A growing number of studies are showing that sleep deprivation is linked to weight gain. If you are trying to lose weight, not getting enough sleep is a huge no-no. One research was performed by the Nurses’ Health Study, where the researchers surveyed about 60,000 women for more than 15 years. These women were asked about aspects of their lifestyle, including their diet, weight, and sleep habits. All women at the start of the study had a healthy weight, but after 16 years, women who slept for 5 hours at the most had 15% chance of becoming obese.

Sleep Loss and Significant Weight Gain

Lack sleep is indeed one of the culprits of gaining weight. When you’re sleepy at work, you may reach out for a cup or more of coffee and possibly a doughnut to go with it, just so you gain more energy. You may also be tempted to skip the gym and just go for a takeout instead of cooking at home. Without question, sleep deprivation can affect your weight loss plans and even your health. According to research, sleep loss that is chronic can cause you to be at risk for heart attacks, irregular heart beating or arrhythmia, stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure among others. As a matter of fact, those who have insomnia, which is a sleep disorder, tend to have another health condition because they lack sleep.

Why People Don’t Get Enough Sleep

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Sleep deprivation causes a lot of harm, including uncontrollable weight gain / PicHelp

It is common for people not to get enough sleep at night. In fact, many individuals brag about pulling an all-nighter because they think this is something like an achievement. Unfortunately, it does lead to weight gain. Those on a diet already know that they have to cut back on calories and sugar; they also know that they have to exercise more to trim down their waist line. However, not everyone is aware that sleep is important to those who are on a diet.

When you don’t get enough sleep, you will notice that you are hungrier and you will crave more food. Eventually, this can lead to excessive food intake and then obesity. Lack of sleep is linked with increased amounts of leptin, but the ghrelin decreases. Both of these are hormones that are connected to your appetite. When this happens, you may overeat. Additionally, when you are up all night, you could easily eat more than what’s necessary.

Even if you are on a healthy diet and you exercise, you should still get enough sleep. At least seven hours of sleep every night can help restore the balance in your body and even allow you to burn more calories.