When it comes to planning and executing activities to achieve weight loss, sleep is often overlooked. But medical experts say getting enough sleep is essential to successful weight loss. According to a report on AFP/Relaxnews, a wealth of scientific research supports the theory that people who get little sleep are at increased risk of being overweight or obese, as poor or insufficient sleep can lead people to be less active and snack more, often resulting in reaching for sugary or fatty foods to occupy time.
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other connective tissue.
Also, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is important for overall health and can help individuals prevent and control many diseases and conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.
Hence, maintaining a healthy weight is as important as it helps to lower the risk for developing these problems. However, while most people working to achieve weight loss focus on the use of diet and exercise; they hardly reckon with having sufficient sleep.
A Consultant Nutritionist from The Necker Hospital in Paris, France, Dr. Laurence Plumey, however recommended getting at least seven hours’ sleep per night to improve the chances of a successful weight loss. A recently published American study found that missing out on full nights of sleep- of at least seven hours- was linked to an increased consumption of sugary drinks and foods, as well as a higher risk of obesity.
It is important to listen to the body’s cues and head to bed with the first yawn of the evening, Plumey recommended. There is no shame in going to bed at 10:30pm, she continues, “otherwise you risk losing out on 1½ hours of sleep before the next cycle.”
Still, some people naturally need more sleep than others, and this genetic trait should be taken into account. As the specialist explains,” if you wake up on great form after five hours’ sleep, then maybe you are someone who just does not need much shuteye.”
Similarly, those seeking to lose weight should make the most of natural daylight, she added.Furthermore, the nutritionist said it was not always widely known, but spending days in rooms with low lighting levels and doing activities under artificial light dips into the body’s reserves of melatonin, a hormone that allows the onset of sleep. Plumey said preventing this process during the day causes the body to secrete of higher levels of melatonin in the evening, which can favour refreshing, quality sleep.
According to the nutrition expert, getting up at midday on Saturday and Sunday sets regular food intake off balance. “It’s better to take 20-minute naps during the day to avoid breaking the weekday routine entirely. This can also make the sound of the Monday morning alarm a whole lot less painful,” she said.
Other factors that could help to those seeking weight loss to achieve more sleep are cutting caffeine six hours before bedtime, getting some exercise, avoiding the mixing sugar and fat at dinner time as well as keeping off drinking alcohol.
According to Plumey, anything that contains caffeine — such as coffee, tea, yerba mate, energy drinks, sodas and chocolate — should be avoided in the evening. Caffeine stimulates the nervous system and alters the activity of melatonin and adenosine, two neurotransmitters essential to the onset of sleep.
