Having a good night’s sleep is so important to our health both physically and mentally. In fact, a lack of quality sleep could be the reason for your sudden weight gain or ability to concentrate. Understanding what’s impacting your sleep is a good starting point, helping you identify what small changes you can make to your lifestyle to fall asleep easier at night or wake up in the morning.
Whilst the relationship between sleep and weight gain impacts everybody in different ways, such as increased snoring that can be reduced using the best pillow for side sleepers, we’re taking a closer look at some of the most common effects below.
Appetite
A good night’s rest is crucial not only to how our bodies function the next day, but our general health. The less sleep we have, the bigger our appetites become, usually leading to over-eating or increasing our calorie intake. It’s not just our appetite that’s impacted by a lack of sleep, but our feeling of fullness. You may feel less full eating the same meal with a low amount of sleep compared to if you had the optimum 7 to 9 hours of sleep, leading us to overeating.
Weight Gain
There are several risks associated with overeating, one of which includes weight gain. Significant weight gain within a short period of time has many implications and may even result in heart failure. If you are gaining 5 pounds or more a week, have noticed swelling in your ankles and feet, you have a raised pulse or a high blood pressure, there may be a further underlying issue impacting your weight gain other than just your sleep. Be sure to seek advice from your doctor to rule out any serious problems.
High-Calorie Foods
The less sleep we have, the more drawn we are to high-calorie foods such as carbohydrates and fats to keep us feeling energised throughout the day. Though it can be tempting to reach for the snack cupboard, maintaining a healthy diet can benefit your body even when you have less sleep, providing it with the nutrients it needs to support your muscles, strengthen your bones and increase your immunity – something that’s also impacted by a lack of quality sleep.
Drowsiness
None of us enjoy feeling tired, particularly if we’ve spent half of the night tossing and turning in bed. A lack of sleep actually affects our ability to concentrate and stay focused, leading to drowsiness that can bring our overall performance down. But drowsiness can also lead to problems impacting our mood and can trigger depression and even anger. Drowsiness is also dangerous in many other senses too such as driving, slowing down your reaction time that can be crucial in an accident.
There are several links between sleep and weight gain, but also on our body’s overall physical and mental health. Instead of focusing on the negatives, make small improvements to your lifestyle to support a better sleep schedule such as by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day and reducing your caffeine and alcohol intake close to bedtime.
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